Note: This story first appeared in The Beautiful Game by CNN Sports, our daily newsletter on all things World Cup. To subscribe, click here.
Happy Monday, everyone, and welcome to the final week of this year’s World Cup.
The first of the two semifinals will get underway tomorrow when Spain takes on France but, until then, we have plenty of other topics to discuss.
In this edition of the newsletter, we’ll take you pitchside with one of the many photographers documenting this summer’s matches and discuss how one superstar’s life has changed during this record-breaking World Cup.
But first, ask yourself this: Is it possible to have too much of a good thing when it comes to soccer’s biggest tournament?
The Main Thing: FIFA to consider an even bigger World Cup
When it was announced that this year would be the largest World Cup in history, fought between a record 48 teams, there was a bit of pushback initially.
The World Cup should be selective, some argued. The overall quality of the games will be negatively impacted, others said.
And while both of those statements were true to some extent, the 48-team competition has won a lot of people over.
First, many of the debutants did themselves proud. Just look at Cape Verde reaching the knockout rounds or Curaçao winning over hearts with their passion and excitement (not to mention their sensational kits). If it wasn’t for the extended format, some of the best storylines at this World Cup would never have existed.
So, it’s perhaps only natural that FIFA President Gianni Infantino would consider adding even more nations to the mix.
“That’s definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup,” he said when Swiss outlet Bluewin asked about the possibility of a 64-team tournament in the future.
“When organizing a World Cup, it’s important to organize it for the whole world – not just Europe and South America – but effectively the entire world. Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup.
“You can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high – and it’s getting higher and higher, all over the world. If you don’t give smaller countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they’ll lack the incentive to keep improving.”
The next World Cup in 2030 is to be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco. However, the first three matches will be played in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay to mark 100 years since the first edition of the tournament was played in Uruguay.
CONMEBOL, the governing body for South American soccer, has already proposed a 2030 World Cup consisting of 64 teams to properly celebrate the centenary.
And while many will see the benefits of such an expansion, both financially and in terms of legacy, there will be others who are less excited.
The tournament is already taking much longer because of the 104-game schedule. Players who reach the latter stages have little time off before their domestic club seasons get back underway as it stands. I can’t imagine players will be over the moon about yet more competition.
It feels like this proposal is still in the early stages, but it does raise an important question: Can you have too much of a good thing? It appears we’ll have to wait to find out.
Your key World Cup dates this week
Before we go any further, here are the dates and times to look out for during the final seven days of the World Cup.
Semifinal 1 (France vs. Spain) – July 14
When? 3 p.m. ET
Where? Dallas Stadium (AT&T Stadium), Arlington, Texas, USA
Semifinal 2 (England vs. Argentina) – July 15
When? 3 p.m. ET
Where? Atlanta Stadium (Mercedes-Benz Stadium), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Third-place match – July 18
When? 5 p.m. ET
Where? Miami Stadium (Hard Rock Stadium), Miami Gardens, Florida, USA
World Cup final – July 19
When? 3 p.m. ET
Where? New York/ New Jersey Stadium (MetLife Stadium), East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA
Quote of the Day
He may not have won the World Cup, but Norway’s Erling Haaland has been the unofficial star of the tournament.
The larger-than-life striker was already very well-known before this edition but has become even more of a global phenomenon since the internet fell in love with his personality.
You can see Haaland has had the time of his life in North America, enjoying the experience both on and off the pitch. It’s all made him even more of a household name.
So, given Norway is now out of the competition, we at CNN Sports wanted to give him one last mention in The Beautiful Game.
What it’s like capturing the World Cup as a photographer
Every World Cup I can think of has at least one defining image.
Whether that be Lionel Messi lifting the trophy in 2022 while on the shoulders of his teammates or the aftermath of Zinedine Zidane headbutting Marco Materazzi in the 2006 final. The still images are imprinted into your mind, capturing all that emotion and passion that many felt in the moment.
But such photos are no accident – they are the result of hard work, experience and talent from a team of photographers who immerse themselves in each and every World Cup match.
Last week, I spoke to Getty Images photographer Sarah Stier who is one of the many photojournalists traveling around North America this summer to document a tournament like no other.
Stier is covering 16 matches in total at the World Cup, a deployment which has already seen her hit the road for several weeks while snapping the action across the continent.
“I really, really believe in the power of a still image,” she says while speaking to me from an airport before heading off to another match.
“I think it can show you so much more – little fleeting glances, sometimes water in an athlete’s eye. Really drawing attention to the emotion that these athletes feel and the magnitude of the moment.”
Getty expects that more than 2.6 million images will be taken over the course of the tournament by its small army of photographers – be that before, during or after the match.
So, what’s the life of a photojournalist really like?
A normal matchday for Stier starts five hours before kickoff. A lot of the early work involves setting up remote cameras in the goals before the teams have even made it to the stadium. She then has access to the locker rooms just moments before the players arrive, and her day quickly cascades from there. In the blink of an eye, she’s captured the team arrivals, the pitch inspections, the warmups and then starting XI photos. All that before she really gets to work once the game kicks off.
“We’re supposed to be flies on the wall, so I get what I need photography-wise, and I put myself in a position to get that, but I never want to feel intrusive,” she says.
“But I don’t want to shy away from documenting moments of sadness and heartbreak because that’s part of the World Cup, that’s part of any major sporting event, that’s what makes this relatable.
“What separates really talented photographers is being able to get that photo quickly, move on to something else, and not linger and be intrusive or bothersome.”
Already at this tournament, Stier has been involved in capturing some of the most dramatic moments. Canada’s last-minute winner against South Africa in the Round of 32 stands out the most, but there are several other moments – such as Canada manager Jesse Marsch’s team huddle – that have produced some memorable photos.
Keeping calm in such a frenzied atmosphere, though, is easier than you may think for someone as experienced as Stier. She says she’s often able to tune out the noise of fans and celebrations by focusing solely on composing the image, hearing “silence” during the process.
“I think I know right away,” she says when asked when she knows if she’s snapped a good photo. “I think I know in seconds. I think I know as I’m composing the image, as I’m watching it happen through the viewfinder.
“As the moment is happening, as I’m firing the shutter, I know whether I’ve composed it well and caught the moment. When I go back and scroll through the pictures on the camera, I’m like double checking to see if I’m right.
“If I was, then I’m really excited, and I send it right away to our edit team, and they do their side of the job, the captioning, cropping, toning and sending it out to our clients all over the world.”
After the full-time whistle, the job still isn’t done. I’ve been in press rooms for soccer matches and can attest to the fact that photographers are often the last ones to leave. But once everything is packed up, equipment is triple-checked and photos are sent, it’s straight off to the next city to cover the next match.
“These people have become my family while I’m away from home,” Stier says about the camaraderie between photographers.
“There is a huge physical aspect of this job. You’re hauling around a lot of gear, a lot of equipment, you’re tired, you’re flying all over the country in different time zones, and then the mental aspect as well.
“You really rely on your team to carry you through.”
The Final Whistle: Where we stand in the Golden Boot race
With just four games remaining in this World Cup, the race for the Golden Boot (the tournament’s top scorer) is in the final stretch.
So, before we go, let’s take a quick look at the runners and riders for the individual accolade.
First, many of those at the top of the leaderboard are still in the competition, which means there are still plenty who could win it.
There is currently a tie at the top between Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé. Both superstars have scored eight each, but the French striker sits just ahead because he’s registered one more assist.
Behind them is Erling Haaland on seven, but the Norwegian was dumped out of the competition by England on Saturday so won’t be getting his hand on any trophies this summer.
The next closest rivals come in the form of an English double act, with Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham both on six goals each.
The two men have been in inspirational form, with Bellingham grabbing this tournament by the scruff of its neck and scoring four goals in the last two knockout rounds to put his name firmly in the ring.
This has probably been the best Golden Boot race in recent history and it looks to be going down to the wire.
Also, given there are now more matches in this expanded World Cup format, it’s perhaps no surprise that a number of records have fallen. For example, Miroslav Klose was the all-time top scorer in World Cup history with 16 goals before a ball was kicked in North America.
Both Messi and Mbappé have passed that mark this summer, with Kane also just two goals away from the previous standard.
It’s just another reason why this has been a World Cup to remember.
