(FILES) Duce Benito Mussolini (C, in white) poses with the Italian national soccer team on July 1, 1938 during a reception at the Palazzo Venezia in Rome. In 1934, the first World Cup in Europe was held in Italy. "May God help him if he fails," the dictator Benito Mussolini is said to have warned the Italian manager, Vittorio Pozzo. Il Duce wanted propaganda for his regime and knew exactly how to get it: by organising a World Cup... and winning it. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)

(FILES) The Brazilian national soccer team poses before its World Cup first round match against Mexico on June 24, 1950 in Rio de Janeiro. (Standing, from L : Ely Do Amparo, Juvenal, Augusto, Danilo Alvim, Barbosa, Bigode; front row, from 2nd L : Maneca, Ademir, Baltazar, Jaïr, Friaca). The world was beginning to recover from the devastation of the Second World War (19391945) when FIFA decided in 1946, during a congress in Luxembourg, to hold the fourth World Cup, a trophy which from that moment on came to be known as the Jules Rimet Cup in honour of the tournament's founder. Only one country put itself forward to host the tournament: Brazil, where football had already become a national passion. The Brazilian authorities decided to impress by building the world's largest stadium in Rio de Janeiro, the Maracana, a venue with a capacity of 200,000. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)

(FILES) Italy's national soccer team poses with the World Cup trophy after beating Hungary 4-2 in the World Cup final, on June 19, 1938 in Colombes, in the suburbs of Paris.(Standing from L : Amadeo Biavati (4th L), coach Vittorio Pozzo holding the trophy, Silvio Piola, Giovanni Ferrari, Gino Colaussi; first row, from L : Ugo Locatelli, Giuseppe Meazza, Alfredo Foni, Pietro Serantoni, Aldo Olivieri, Pietro Rava and Michele Andreolo). France hosted the 1938 World Cup against a backdrop of pre-war tensions in Europe. Austria, which had a strong national team, did not attend the tournament despite having qualified, as Adolf Hitler's expansionist ambitions began with them. Spain did not attend either; it was ravaged by a civil war (19361939). (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)

(FILES) Swedish goalkeeper Kalle Svensson dives to block the ball in front of Brazilian forward Ademir on July 9, 1950 in Rio de Janeiro during their World Cup final pool soccer match. Ademir scored four goals as Brazil beat Sweden 7-1. The world was beginning to recover from the devastation of the Second World War (19391945) when FIFA decided in 1946, during a congress in Luxembourg, to hold the fourth World Cup, a trophy which from that moment on came to be known as the Jules Rimet Cup in honour of the tournament's founder. Only one country put itself forward to host the tournament: Brazil, where football had already become a national passion. The Brazilian authorities decided to impress by building the world's largest stadium in Rio de Janeiro, the Maracana, a venue with a capacity of 200,000. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)

(FILES) German national soccer team players execute the nazi salute, on June 4, 1938 at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, before the start of their World Cup match against Switzerland. (From L : Hans Mock, Rudi Raftl, Willi Schmaus, Jupp Gauchel, Rudi Gellesh, Ernst Lehner, Paul Janes, Willi Hahnemann, Anderl Kupfer, Hans Pesser, Albin Kitzinger). France hosted the 1938 World Cup against a backdrop of pre-war tensions in Europe. Austria, which had a strong national team, did not attend the tournament despite having qualified, as Adolf Hitler's expansionist ambitions began with them. Spain did not attend either; it was ravaged by a civil war (19361939). (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)

Toluca's Argentine head coach Antonio Mohamed looks on after losing the Liga MX Clausura quarter-finals second leg football match between Pachuca and Toluca at Miguel Hidalgo stadium in Pachuca, Hidalgo state, Mexico on May 10, 2026. (Photo by Alfredo ESTRELLA / AFP via Getty Images)

(FILES) Uruguayans Pedro Cea, Hector Scarone and Hector Castro (from L) celebrate after Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2 in the first-ever World Cup soccer final in Montevideo on July 30, 1930. The FIFA World Cup, the most important and influential tournament, took its first steps on 21 May 1904, when the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded in Paris by seven European countries. However, it would be more than a quarter of a century before the first edition of what is now known as the World Cup became a reality. The First World War (19141918) put a stop to plans for a global tournament. Ten years later, the aspirations of the footballing community of that era came to fruition with the first World Cup in Uruguay. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 10: Son Heung-Min #7 of Los Angeles FC warms up prior to the MLS match between Los Angeles Football Club and Houston Dynamo FC at BMO Stadium on May 10, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)