WORLD CUP Bonus Episode: First Week
6/16/20261 hr
Less than one week in, the 2026 FIFA World Cup is already delivering surprises. Trevor and his football frenemy Joe Opio discuss Germany's 7-1 rout of Curaçao, whether Mexico beat South Africa or South Africa lost to Mexico and why those aren't the same thing, and a statement win from the US against Paraguay. They also dive into the ways football is borrowing from basketball, hand out some early flowers (and a few early critiques), and try to figure out what we've actually learned from a tournament that seems determined to keep everyone guessing.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsTrevor Noah· Host0:00
This episode is brought to you by Verizon. As an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Verizon is bringing once-in-a-lifetime experiences to their customers, free tickets to matches, pitchside access during gameplay, and meet and greets with soccer legends. If you're not with Verizon, no sweat. Stop by a Verizon store to get in on the action, and learn about their offers for new customers. No one gets you closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 than Verizon. [upbeat music] [whistle blows] This is What Now? with Trevor Noah. We made it, Joe.
Joe Opio· Guest0:41
Oh, we did.
Trevor Noah· Host0:42
We made it. Here we are.
Joe Opio· Guest0:43
Finally.
Trevor Noah· Host0:43
What is this, uh, eight years of planning, four years of waiting- [laughs] ... and then one week of chaos. Welcome to week one of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted by Mexico, the United States, and Canada. You know, even saying it makes it feel as, as jam-packed as it's been.
Joe Opio· Guest1:08
Yeah.
Trevor Noah· Host1:08
More countries hosting than ever before, more games than ever before, more countries participating than ever before. I don't remember the last time I started watching a game in the same country as the games are hosted, by the way- Oh, yeah ... at midnight.
Joe Opio· Guest1:20
Yeah. It's, first of all, the gestation period. When you said eight years, I went like, "Actually, it's been eight years."
Trevor Noah· Host1:26
Yeah, it's been eight years of- We f- ... of planning, yeah.
Joe Opio· Guest1:28
Eight years,