The 2026 World Cup featured 104 matches in 16 host cities, including 2 in Texas. 7 million people attended the games but for many Americans it turned into a nationwide tailgate party that went on for weeks.
I asked my TPPF colleague, Joshua Treviño, a soccer aficionado and deep thinker on a host of global issues, to join me on my most recent podcast to discuss how international visitors reacted to the World Cup and whether the 2026 games were an effective demonstration of America’s soft power.
Did they change the way the world sees America and the way we see ourselves? You can listen to our conversation here:
Sherry Sylvester is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and the former Senior Advisor to Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.
You can also listen to the Sherry Sylvester Show on Apple or Spotify.
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