World Cup 2026: The Stage Is Set

There are only a few days left until the World Cup begins.

Soon, people all around the world will gather in front of their screens. Some will set alarms for dawn. Some will secretly check the scores during work meetings.

So what exactly sets the World Cup apart? After all, don't we already watch football every week?

In the modern age, everyone has their own agenda, their own algorithm, their own discovery feed. That is precisely why sharing the same story with the rest of the world once every four years is more valuable than we tend to realize.

Because at the World Cup, it is not only footballers who step onto the pitch.

Nations do.

Cultures do.

National memories do.

There are moments in life that make you say, "I remember exactly where I was." For millions of people, World Cups create those moments.

Years later, you may forget in which minute the goal was scored.

But you will not forget where you were, or who you embraced when it happened.

Of course, there are things far more important than tournaments when it comes to reminding us who we are.

But memory does not archive events by importance. It keeps them according to the emotions they leave behind.

That, in the end, is what truly sets the World Cup apart.

Every country brings its own culture with it.

Brazilians experience football almost like a carnival.

Roger Milla is dancing by the corner flag.

In Argentina, children who grew up hearing the legend of Maradona from their fathers are now carrying that legacy forward by watching the story of the icon of their own generation, Messi.

The languages are different.

The flags are different.

The geographies are different.

But the joy that follows a goal speaks the same language everywhere in the world. Like different accents of the same emotion.

For us, though, the World Cup first brings 2002 to mind.

A third-place finish.

Ilhan Mansiz's golden goal.

Our matches against the Brazilians — the era's final boss — first in the group stage and then again in the semifinal.

The wonderful atmosphere we created together with South Korean players and the stands after the third-place match.

The years have passed.

The squads have changed.

Football has changed.

The world has changed.

We have changed too.

But some things never lose the way they make us feel. It is human nature to always long for what is old and beautiful. For us, 2002 is that kind of nostalgia.

Now we wait for new stories to be written. May it be a tournament that sends us leaping off our seats again and again — one we enjoy and color with our own spirit.

Happy football season in advance to all sports lovers, and enjoy the matches!