The 2026 FIFA World Cup, which garnered unprecedented spectacle both on and off the pitch, is officially over. World No. 2 and tournament favorite Spain defeated top-ranked Argentina.
With the whole world watching, a grueling, deadlocked game carried into extra time until Ferran Torres netted the decisive goal. Argentina was led by the legendary Lionel Messi, who carried the team to victory in the 2022 World Cup, a game that already holds its own space in history.
Now that the pageantry on United States soil has concluded for the first time since 1994, some red, white and blue supporters are wondering what’s next for a game that seemingly experienced more attention than ever in the States.
For all the Yankees out there who are new to soccer, fútbol, or whatever you’d like to call it, here’s how you can keep up with the sport until the World Cup to tick back around in 2030.
Clubs, leagues to watch
When international play isn’t around, players typically appear with a club side in the form of a domestic league, domestic cup and international cup against the top teams in their region, not just their country. The U.S. has its own league, which kicked off on July 16, just three days before the World Cup final.
Major League Soccer (MLS) features big names, like Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Antoine Griezmann and Thomas Müller, but it also nurtures some of the stars and stripes
future prospects for the national team. Touted 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan, who plays for the Philadelphia Union, has a rumored move to English club giant Manchester City in the works.
Besides MLS, there’s also the United Soccer League and USL2, which operates in a promotion/relegation system, a format that resembles the top leagues across the world, yet has not been adapted to include the MLS; it operates independently, besides matchups in the U.S. Open Cup, when the two organizations meet.
The English Premier League currently stands as the pinnacle for club competition. Teams like Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool historically represent the biggest the country has to offer. It’s extremely competitive at the top, as placements for international competition are seeded based on a squad’s final table finish. Last season, Arsenal claimed the pole position for their first League Title in over two decades.
Although those six represent the titans, two other English clubs, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, stand as the only international champions from the country in the UEFA Europa League and Conference League, their respective competitions.
The UEFA Champions League joins that pair as the tournament to determine the best European club squad. It was claimed in consecutive years by French juggernaut Paris Saint-Germain, who has held a monopoly on the domestic league, winning it five times straight.
Most other domestic leagues resemble that of the French League One, with a stark drop-off from the top. The German Bundesliga is routinely dominated by FC Bayern Munich, while FC Barcelona holds back-to-back Spanish league titles, only flipping in recent years with Real Madrid and in the Italian League Juventus holds 16 more titles than anyone else, but hasn’t done so since 2019–20.
Women’s World Cup
If you have a knack for international ball and club competition just isn’t your thing, you’re just in luck, as the Women’s World Cup resumes in the summer of 2027, from June 24 to July 25.
The competition will take place in Brazil and last tournament’s winner, Spain, is entering as the early favorite. Despite past successes, the United States women’s national soccer team doesn’t enter as a top-14 squad in this competition, according to ESPN.
NCAA Soccer
College sports always bring a great twist on professional sports, and that’s no different in soccer. The NCAA level is experiencing not only a whirlwind of change, but exponential development as well.
The DI cabinet officially ruled that the men’s season will be two semesters long next year, a change wanted among the college soccer fandom. There will now be a College Cup played to match this new format, which is closer to the professional leagues.
For Penn State specifically, this couldn’t come at a better time. New coach Rob Dow has already stayed busy on the recruiting trail to build a roster for the men’s team; and the long-term home of the Nittany Lions women’s and men’s soccer teams, Jeffrey Field, underwent an offseason of renovations.
Anyone in Happy Valley over the winter months saw the massive white bubble of an athletic complex the university was renting. This structure allowed players to train during the harsh cold months, and the time to see if it’s been helpful is just around the corner.
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