The Football World Cup that starts this Thursday (11) has two unique features: it will be contested by 48 teams (there were 32 until the last edition, in 2022) and will have three host countries (USA, Canada and Mexico). For just over a month, millions of people will go to the stadiums to participate in the biggest sporting celebration in the world. The problem is that many people are facing barriers of two types: financial – tickets are also the most expensive of all time – and political – under the Donald Trump administration, the USA is making it difficult for fans and even athletes and delegations to enter the World Cup. On the field, the World Cup should mark the end of the Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo Era, and the Brazilian team seeks to overcome suspicions to take the sixth – Brazil won fifth in 2002 and is the only one to have won five titles to date. In this episode, Natuza Nery talks to two journalists who speak directly from the United States. First, Guga Chacra talks about the political climate in the USA and explains the relationship between Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, and Donald Trump. Afterwards, André Rizek provides a sporting analysis of the World Cup: who are the favorites and the underdogs, and what are Brazil's chances under the command of Carlo Ancelotti. Guests: Guga Chacra, commentator for Globonews, TV Globo, CBN and the newspaper O Globo, and André Rizek, editor-in-chief and presenter of Seleção Sportv and Fechamento Sportv. The O Assunto podcast is produced by: Luiz Felipe Silva, Sarah Resende, Carlos Catelan, Luiz Gabriel Franco, Juliene Moretti, Stéphanie Nascimento and Guilherme Gama. Presentation: Natuza Nery. What you need to know: 2026 World Cup: see the records that can be broken Extortionate prices, swelling, visas and Trump: the many controversies of the 2026 World Cup UN asks US to review its immigration policy during the World Cup Prevented from entering the United States, referee returns to Somalia and is welcomed as a hero Restrictive visa policy sponsored by Trump keeps tourists away from the World Cup and shakes the hotel sector in the USA With the new format, the 2026 World Cup will have 104 matches: see how many games each country will host Video: Neymar misses the high ball in Seleção training; see video O Susunto is the daily podcast produced by g1, available on all audio platforms and on YouTube. Since its debut in August 2019, the O Assunto podcast has had more than 168 million downloads across all audio platforms. On YouTube, g1's daily podcast has more than 14.2 million views. The concern of hotel owners in the USA regarding the low level of reservations before the World Cup Getty Images