Is Hosting the World Cup a Blessing or a Curse?
From glory to grief, the World Cup reveals what nations dare to dream. Is Hosting the World Cup a Blessing or a Curse? · France hosted the World Cup in 1998 and won it for the first time in their history. A nation united in pure joy. · Brazil hosted in 2014. Germany humiliated them seven goals to one in the semi final. On home soil. In front of their own people. A nation traumatised. Two host nations. Two completely different stories. So is hosting the World Cup a blessing or a curse? It depends entirely on who is hosting. Global football divides naturally into three tiers. The superpowers — Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, France and Spain. For these nations hosting carries the heaviest burden. Winning is not just an ambition. It is an expectation. Anything less feels like failure. Brazil proved that painfully. Twice. Then there is the middle group. England, Mexico and the Netherlands....