In the first World Cup with 48 countries, fans from all over the world meet to celebrate National Newspaper/ Reproduction A World Cup is made up of great goals, players, zebras and, of course, the fans. The world meets at the World Cup. Sometimes it's little by little. But at any moment, the scream is ready. Come what may, the result is the same. The secret of football is not in the rules. On the contrary. The best thing is to know that no one needs to be an expert in this game to experience this wave. This force capable of taking us away from the reality of life for a few moments, so that we can be absolutely sure that life is worth living. 📱Bookmark g1 on Google and follow the main news of the day Imagining that all of this is caused when a spherical object called a ball crosses a line drawn by someone's hands is almost unbelievable. At the World Cup, the people of the planet share one of humanity's greatest inventions: the goal. A magical moment because it is, at the same time, collective and unique. Everyone is free to live this moment the way they want. How can we explain that laughter and crying have exactly the same cause? And it's not crying tears, no. It's the one that makes noise, so loud that it stands out in a football stadium. In the first World Cup with 48 countries, fans from all over the world meet to celebrate National Newspaper/ Reproduction Each people has a way of cheering. But, sometimes, the joy is so much that it doesn't even fit into the culture itself and the way is to strip away traditions towards a universal gesture. All fans have lessons to teach. The persistence of Tunisia, beaten 5-1. The harmony of the Netherlands, heading towards the same destination. But it's really good when all the colors mix in the corners of a country that previously didn't care about football and where today it's impossible to avoid the subject. "In New York it's always easy to meet people from all over the world. At the World Cup it's even easier because everyone is proud to show the place they came from. And, in the first World Cup with 48 countries, the feeling is that this is the center of the world. The American fan, wearing the Senegal shirt, says he was against this expanded World Cup, but now it's changed, he thinks it's a great idea", says reporter Pedro Bassan. In the first World Cup with 48 countries, fans from all over the world meet to celebrate National Newspaper/ Reproduction The first round of the first phase wasn't even completed and it was already worth taking more people to the party. What would football be without the joy of Cape Verde? And the more people come together, the more we realize that we are all the same. What's around the gaze doesn't matter. The feelings are the same everywhere: love, faith, freedom. There is no point in creating barriers, the purpose of this sport is to bring people together. Since the time of the pharaohs, human beings have known that it is possible to live without football. And you also know that life gets boring. From time to time, we need to renew hope. Thankfully, every four years, the universe is reborn with a new explosion. GloboPop: click to see videos from the Jornal Nacional stage READ ALSO Home of Jornal Nacional at the World Cup is in the heart of Manhattan Island, in New York Discover Globo’s latest coverage of the 2026 World Cup Special series on the essence of Brazilian football highlights the talent of our players Carlo Ancelotti's path to the Brazilian national team is full of achievements; get to know