The 2026 World Cup is already mixing football drama with off-field disruption. Ghana’s campaign has been thrown into immediate turmoil after Thomas Partey was denied entry to Canada, ruling him out of the opener against Panama in Toronto and prompting an angry diplomatic protest from Accra. England’s buildup has been less political but no less chaotic, with stolen training gear in Kansas City only partly recovered as police investigate. On the pitch, however, the co-hosts supplied the early storylines. Canada salvaged a 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina thanks to Cyle Larin’s late equaliser, earning the hosts their first World Cup point on home soil. The United States made a far louder entrance, powering past Paraguay 4-1 in Los Angeles, with Folarin Balogun’s first-half double setting the tone for an emphatic opening statement.