{"id":888,"date":"2026-07-02T11:36:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T11:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888"},"modified":"2026-07-02T11:36:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T11:36:02","slug":"even-fifa-and-trump-cant-ruin-this-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888","title":{"rendered":"Even FIFA and Trump Can\u2019t Ruin This World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" algeria=\"\" alt=\"Thousands of fans are seen in the distance at a World Cup stadium in Kansas City. The fans in the front are holding a giant banner that says \" and=\"\" are=\"\" banner=\"\" class=\"wp-image-887\" flags.\"=\"\" hearts=\"\" height=\"512\" in=\"\" lawrence.\"=\"\" middle=\"\" of=\"\" shown=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4e53c20e2122ecda953b4791b1558e82-768x512.webp\" thank=\"\" the=\"\" two=\"\" us=\"\" width=\"768\" with=\"\" you=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4e53c20e2122ecda953b4791b1558e82-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4e53c20e2122ecda953b4791b1558e82-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4e53c20e2122ecda953b4791b1558e82.webp 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Despite the countless<\/span> problematic aspects of the 2026 FIFA Men\u2019s World Cup\u2014power-hungry fascistsand the wealthy elite grabbing every ounce of political and monetary gain they can imagine at the expense of fans, national team players and staff, workers, and more\u2014there are a few inspiringstories that I have been following.\u00a0<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=885\">Venezuela\u2019s Earthquake-Hit Health System Is in Crisis<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Among them: A national team playing in itsfirst World Cup, outplaying established opponents with their spirit and tactics; a friendship between residents of a Kansas town and the national team players training there; and a young player showing the world what his sister always saw in him.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As Jules Boykoff, a former US men\u2019s national team and professional soccer player\u2014and current politics professor at Pacific University in Oregon\u2014told me just before the tournament started, soccer has the power to spark new connections within our communities and organizing. More simply, it can be fun.<\/p>\n<h3>Cape Verde\u2019s ascent to the knockout stages<\/h3>\n<p>Cape Verde, a nation of about 530,000 people (about the same population as Atlanta), qualified for its first World Cup last year. This year, they earned draws against their three group stage opponents: Spain, one of the favorites to win the whole tournament, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia. Vozinha, the goalkeeper, had a star performance against Spain with seven saves and gained 14 million followers on Instagram as a result, but beyond that, the Verdean team genuinely challenged Spain during the match in ways that they had no answer to.<\/p>\n<p>Against Uruguay, Cape Verde scored its first two goals\u2014including Kevin Pina\u2019s stunning, long-distance free kick that punished their opponents\u2019 flimsy defensive wall\u2014and the team created much better chances to score than Saudi Arabia.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div><iframe allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3zj1BP-RCkU\" title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Prior to the start of the tournament, Cape Verde was projected to have the fourth-lowest chance of making it out of the group stage behind Iraq, Cura\u00e7ao, and Haiti. They beat the odds with flying colors and will play Argentina, led by perhaps the greatest player of all time, Lionel Messi, on Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Lawrence, Kansas, residents connect with Algerian national team players and fans<\/h3>\n<p>At the start of the World Cup, a video of two Lawrence residents enthusiastically welcoming Algerians to town after the national team set up their training camp there went viral. If you didn\u2019t get the chance to watch it, one resident explains to a reporter that he attended what appears to be a fan event because he was \u201cso happy\u201d that \u201cthey chose our town for their base camp.\u201d While both he and another resident said in the interview that they didn\u2019t know much about Algeria, they were already adopting their fan chants: \u201c1, 2, 3, vive l\u2019Algerie,\u201d or \u201c1, 2, 3, long live Algeria\u201d\u2014a phrase with ties to Algeria\u2019s fight for independence from French occupation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Local outlets have done some great reporting on the new Kansas-Algeria bond, which I highly recommend you give a read.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=882\">The Presidency Is Making Trump Exponentially Richer<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The friendship has led to some of my favorite videos to come from the tournament:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Ivory Coast\u2019s star winger Yan Diomande plays a great tournament for his first fan<\/h3>\n<p>I sometimes find myself searching for the personal stories of the soccer players I enjoy watching. Diomande plays for the major German club RB Leipzig; his story in the<em> Players\u2019 Tribune<\/em>, a platform that publishes first-person stories from athletes, really moved me.<\/p>\n<p>You should take a look at it yourself\u2014his words are so powerful that any description I come up with wouldn\u2019t do it justice\u2014but Diomande talks about his sister Roxanne, who believed that he would become a great soccer player, taking him to tryouts for professional teams, and about his shock and grief whenRoxanne died at the age of 15 after someone spiked her drink at a party. Yan Diomande has achieved so much at just 19 and is attracting the attention of the best teams in the world.<\/p>\n<p>His dribbling is mesmerizing, and his decision-making after the dribble\u2014whether that be a pass or shot\u2014is impressive for how early he is in his career. His Ivory Coast teammates are so cleverly organized and look to get him the ball often to cause chaos in the opposing team\u2019s defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Given that, I still think about one quote from Diomande\u2019s story, entitled \u201cDear Roxanne\u201d: \u201cEverything I do on a football pitch, it\u2019s for you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although the Ivory Coast lost 1-2 against Norway on Tuesday, he and his teammates have achieved so much, reaching the knockout stage for the first time in their World Cup history.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=879\">ICE Finds a New Way to Dodge Congress About a Secret Protester Database<\/a><\/p>\n<\/article>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cape Verde\u2019s dream run, the Algeria-Kansas connection, and Ivory Coast\u2019s Yan Diomande have captured hearts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Even FIFA and Trump Can\u2019t Ruin This World Cup - Moving and Mortgage Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Even FIFA and Trump Can\u2019t Ruin This World Cup - Moving and Mortgage Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cape Verde\u2019s dream run, the Algeria-Kansas connection, and Ivory Coast\u2019s Yan Diomande have captured hearts.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving and Mortgage Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-02T11:36:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4e53c20e2122ecda953b4791b1558e82.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"682\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=888#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=888\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2\"},\"headline\":\"Even FIFA and Trump Can\u2019t Ruin This World Cup\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T11:36:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=888\"},\"wordCount\":792,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=888#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/8f861d40c1cb83e05bfe31d53ba2e730.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=888#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=888\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=888\",\"name\":\"Even FIFA and Trump Can\u2019t Ruin This World Cup - Moving and Mortgage Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=888#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=888#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/8f861d40c1cb83e05bfe31d53ba2e730.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T11:36:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=888#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=888\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=888#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/8f861d40c1cb83e05bfe31d53ba2e730.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/8f861d40c1cb83e05bfe31d53ba2e730.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=888#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Even FIFA and Trump Can\u2019t Ruin This World Cup\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Moving and Mortgage Hub\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Even FIFA and Trump Can\u2019t Ruin This World Cup - Moving and Mortgage Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Even FIFA and Trump Can\u2019t Ruin This World Cup - Moving and Mortgage Hub","og_description":"Cape Verde\u2019s dream run, the Algeria-Kansas connection, and Ivory Coast\u2019s Yan Diomande have captured hearts.","og_url":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888","og_site_name":"Moving and Mortgage Hub","article_published_time":"2026-07-02T11:36:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":682,"url":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4e53c20e2122ecda953b4791b1558e82.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2"},"headline":"Even FIFA and Trump Can\u2019t Ruin This World Cup","datePublished":"2026-07-02T11:36:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888"},"wordCount":792,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/8f861d40c1cb83e05bfe31d53ba2e730.webp","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888","url":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888","name":"Even FIFA and Trump Can\u2019t Ruin This World Cup - Moving and Mortgage Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/8f861d40c1cb83e05bfe31d53ba2e730.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-02T11:36:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/8f861d40c1cb83e05bfe31d53ba2e730.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/8f861d40c1cb83e05bfe31d53ba2e730.webp","width":1024,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=888#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Even FIFA and Trump Can\u2019t Ruin This World Cup"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/","name":"Moving and Mortgage Hub","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com"],"url":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}