For six weeks in the summer of 2026, New York City was the centre of the football universe — and the city rose to the occasion in a way that silenced every sceptic who doubted whether Americans could embrace the beautiful game.

The timing of the tournament was remarkable. The World Cup arrived in a city already buzzing with once-in-a-generation moments: the New York Knicks were chasing their first NBA championship since 1973, July 4th marked 250 years of American independence, and a string of major cultural events turned Manhattan into a global stage all summer long.

Knicks fever and football passion

When the Knicks moved to within one win of their first title in 53 years, New York understandably went Knicks-mad. The NYPD closed streets around Madison Square Garden to manage the crowds. Celebrating fans swarmed cars, buses, and lamp posts. An estimated two million people poured into downtown Manhattan for the open-top bus parade. For that first week, the World Cup took a back seat — and fairly so.

But the passion that had fuelled those Knicks celebrations transferred directly to football. Every bar, barber shop, and bodega switched on the games. The city ran five official fan parks — one in each borough — and all of them were packed. Giant screens across New York broadcast every match.

Queens: the world's borough delivers

New York's diversity made it unlike any other host city on earth. Queens, known as the World's Borough, offered a fan experience that no stadium could replicate. Colombia supporters filled a Colombian bar in Jackson Heights. Ecuador fans turned Little Ecuador in Corona into a carnival. And in the Boca Juniors steakhouse in Elmhurst — draped from floor to ceiling in a giant Argentina flag — the atmosphere was extraordinary.

It was inside that steakhouse that Lionel Messi scored twice against Austria to break the World Cup's all-time goalscoring record. The scenes that followed were unlike anything witnessed in a football setting. Every person in that room understood exactly what they had just seen.

Times Square: a city wrapped in the World Cup

At Times Square, the sensory overload was total. Billboards featured Messi promoting Michelob Ultra, Christian Pulisic advertising deodorant, and Argentina players fronting a campaign for prediction market company Kalshi. One evening, a barge carried a 50-foot cutout of Lamine Yamal down the East River to promote a new pair of Adidas boots. Shop windows across the city were dressed in World Cup memorabilia, and jerseys from all 48 nations were visible on the streets at any given moment.

Times Square became the unofficial home of fan takeovers. During the group stage alone, supporters from Brazil, Ecuador, France, Norway, and Panama descended on the intersection in enormous numbers — the Norwegians even performed their famous Viking Row. When any country played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, their fans gathered first in Times Square to sing and dance.

American fans proved the doubters wrong

The USMNT's supporters were every bit as passionate as any other nation's. At Socceria, a new bar in Brooklyn, the atmosphere for the United States' last-32 clash with Belgium was electric — New York mayor Zohran Mamdani was even spotted watching from inside. When VAR calls were being reviewed, entire bars fell silent. When the USMNT were eventually eliminated by Belgium, it stung. But fans regrouped and threw themselves into the rest of the tournament.

The city's landmarks became part of the story. Classic Football Shirts staged an exhibition at the Empire State Building. The Atlas statue outside the Rockefeller Centre swapped its globe for a giant Adidas football. A giant Lego replica of the World Cup trophy stood where the Rockefeller Christmas tree normally sits. Fans watched Spain beat Belgium from the Top of the Rock, and Netherlands face Japan beneath the Brooklyn Bridge. Thousands packed Central Park to watch Spain defeat Argentina in the final.

On the eve of the final, drones lit up the Manhattan skyline in the shape of the World Cup trophy. The city had given itself entirely to football — and the world had come to play in New York.

There was plenty to criticise about this World Cup: unnecessary advertising hydration breaks, dynamic ticket pricing, political interference, and a half-time show at the final. But for sheer atmosphere, for fans embracing football with intelligence and joy, there was nowhere on earth quite like New York in the summer of 2026.