Shadowing Practice: Everything Wrong With The 2026 World Cup - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Here in the UK, as in many countries around the world, this particularly warm summer will be dominated by the World Cup.
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People will be drinking in beer gardens, getting slightly sunburned, watching Kane and Saka take England to the World Cup final, securing England their second star on their shirt.
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At least, that's the hope.
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However, put the actual football to one side, and the sheen on this World Cup starts to come off remarkably quickly.
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Before the tournament even started, there were questions about the decision to award the World Cup to the US, Canada and Mexico in the first place.
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We've seen one of the host countries, the US, headed by FIFA Peace Prize winner Donald Trump, one of the participants, Iran,
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and we've seen FIFA themselves make an absolute killing, with some tickets to the final being sold for just shy of $11 ,000.
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So in this video, we're going to have a look into this World Cup
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and go through some of the main serious criticisms being levelled against both FIFA and the host nations.
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Music Trump's war in Iran is just one of many instances of Trump's military action spreading around the world.
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In the latest issue of our magazine, we run through a timeline of all of Trump's strikes and interventions, from Somalia to the Pacific to Nigeria.
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That's just some of 80 pages in the magazine, because there's more in too long than you'd expect.
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Purchase your copy by clicking the link in the description.
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Now, let's just start with a quick caveat.
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We're not a sports channel.
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As such, we're going to focus on the politics of the tournament and won't be discussing, more than in passing, the criticisms made of the hydration breaks, the half -time show, or anything like that.
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Anyway, it's probably good to start by explaining exactly how the US, Mexico and Canada were awarded this tournament in the first place.
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back in 2010, when the US put forward their bid to host the 2022 World Cup.
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Many involved in the bid were certain of its success.
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They'd spent two years preparing the bid.
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They had already shown that they had the infrastructure to host the tournament back in 1994, and high -profile politicians, including Bill Clinton, Henry Kissinger, and Barack Obama,
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were involved in various stages of the process.
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The only main rival bid was Qatar, a country without Celsius.
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In a shock move though, the FIFA Executive Committee, a shady group of 24 individuals representing continental federations,
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voted 14 -8 to give the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.
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It turned out that Qatar had been bribing members of the executive committee, sometimes to the tune of millions of dollars.
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As a result of this, over the next few years, FIFA began to try and fix some of its working practices to stop something like this from being able to happen again.
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In 2015, it was decided that the host of the next World Cup after Qatar,
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the 2026 World Cup, would be selected by a FIFA council comprising all 211 member nations.
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a Swiss -Italian lawyer backed by the Americans from the second round of voting onwards, won the election to replace Sepp Blatter as head of FIFA.
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One of the first things Infantino did was to convince the
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FIFA Council to block any bids for the 2026 World Cup by countries in Europe or Asia,
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as the 2018 World Cup was hosted in Russia and the 2022 World Cup was hosted in Qatar.
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With so many countries excluded from hosting, this tilted the balance in the US's favour.
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Nonetheless, even with this, the US wasn't taking any chances, and realised that a joint bid with Mexico and Canada would help their chances of success.
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Canada and Mexico would help the US's reputation, and the US would help them overcome any concerns about lack of infrastructure for the tournament.
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In the end, the United bid, as it was known, won 135 votes.
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The only other bid was Morocco, which received 65 votes.
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With the 2026 World Cup being the first overseen by Infantino, and with this being the first World Cup not to be associated with the corruption that came before him,
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there was a hope that this year's tournament would help to rehabilitate FIFA's image.
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The expansion of the tournament from 32 to 48 teams was supposed to make the tournament more inclusive.
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However, things began to take a turn in the run up to the tournament.
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Since his re -election, Trump has repeatedly mocked Canada, referring to it as the 51st state, and at times even going as far as suggesting that the US could annex it.
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This strained relations between the hosts and undermined the inclusivity of the tournament itself.
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Despite this, Infantino continued to cozy up to Trump and in December 2025 awarded him the newly created FIFA Peace Prize.
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Mere weeks later, the US kidnapped the Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro, and then started its war against Iran.
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This undermined Infantino and raised interesting questions about how the US might approach hosting Iran in the tournament.
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In the end, the US allowed the Iranian team to enter the US for 24 hours on the day of their matches, although there are reports that this has been extended to two days.
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In the intervening period, they are required to train at their base in Mexico.
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The thing is, it's not just Iran that's been subject to restrictions from the US.
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There have been multiple reports of excessive security checks being used against teams and players.
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The Uzbekistan players, for instance, were subjected to drug sniffer dogs and metal detectors when they first arrived at their training venue in New York.
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Additionally, we saw a referee from Somalia, Omar Artan, denied entry to the US despite holding a diplomatic for 11 hours.
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On top of this, we've seen fans have their US travel permits revoked days before heading to the tournament, despite previously being approved.
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With flights, accommodation and match tickets paid for, this decision meant that fans not only lost out on seeing their team in the World Cup, but also lost them significant sums of money.
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And while we're on the topic of money, as a result of FIFA introducing new dynamic pricing for tickets, we saw tickets sell for absurd sums.
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As we said in the intro, some tickets to the final were being sold for $11 ,000.
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This has contributed, alongside the sale of TV rights and sponsorship, to FIFA making an absolute killing.
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It's expected this World Cup will net them at $9 billion, more than double the revenue of the last Olympics.
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Additionally, the four -year revenue cycle from the last World Cup
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to the end of the World Cup this year is expected
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to be 73 % higher than the four -year revenue cycle between 2018 and 2022.
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In other words, while fans are losing out, FIFA is winning.
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It's also worth finishing by quickly acknowledging the environmental impact of this tournament.
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This is the first World Cup to be hosted by three separate nations, which necessitates significantly more air travel than previous tournaments.
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According to Reuters, as a result of this, the climate cost for this tournament will be double that of Qatar in 2022.
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With hotter summers already making it harder for players, to host in the future.
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The latest issue of our magazine is out now, and if you want our best value ever,
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subscribing and using code SUMMER26 gets you your first copy for as cheap as £4 .99, as well as 20 % off as long as you stay subscribed.
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I told you about one of the articles at the start of this video, but this issue is truly jam -packed with content from all around the world.
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Obviously, the headline section is our rundown of Trump's wars around the world, discussing all of the wrath,
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going nation by nation through the timeline, and reaching the ultimate question, has Trump created the modern holy war?
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From there we dive into our regional sections, starting with the UK, where we unpack the results of the recent elections, take a look at the UK's odd foreign posture,
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and discuss if Britain has become ungovernable.
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Then in the EU section we discuss how Russia's sphere of influence is fading, why Europe's energy transition isn't what you expect,
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as well as looking at the Euro's missing In the global section, we discuss if we're seeing echoes of the First World War,
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what's next for Iran, as well as what really came from the Gen Z protests we saw emerging last year.
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That's not even everything.
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With this 80 -page issue, our joint longest ever, there's even more to read than I've even been able to mention here.
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So click the link in the description to learn more and grab your copy today.
Why practice speaking with this video?
Practicing speaking with the video "Everything Wrong With The 2026 World Cup" offers an engaging way to improve your English skills. The context of the video revolves around a major global event—the World Cup—making it a relevant topic for many. By shadowing the speaker, you can adopt their tone, rhythm, and vocabulary. This exercise is not just about repetition; it's about immersing yourself in real-world discussions, which can significantly enhance your fluency. Using a shadowing app while watching allows you to mimic the speaker directly, helping you improve your English pronunciation and gain confidence in your speaking abilities.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The speaker utilizes several grammatical structures and expressions that can be particularly useful for learners:
- Passive Voice: The phrase "was awarded the World Cup" demonstrates passive construction, emphasizing the action over the subject. This is a common structure in formal discussions, particularly in topics relating to events and decisions.
- Complex Sentences: Sentences like "Despite this, Infantino continued to cozy up to Trump" show how to connect contrasting ideas effectively, making your speech more sophisticated.
- Direct and Indirect Speech: The speaker reports what Trump said, such as "mocked Canada," showcasing how to convey quotes and paraphrases appropriately. Learning to incorporate these forms will enhance your conversational skills.
Common Pronunciation Traps
As you listen to the video, you may encounter several pronunciation challenges:
- Names and Titles: Names like "Infantino" and "FIFA" can be tricky to pronounce. Ensure you're familiar with them to avoid mispronunciation during your own discussions.
- Phrasal Verbs: The term "cozy up to" exemplifies a phrasal verb that may not be straightforward. Pay attention to the way it's spoken to better understand its contextual meaning.
- Intonation and Stress: The speaker uses varied intonation when discussing political figures and controversial topics. Shadowing the speech can help you grasp the nuances of English intonation and improve your shadow speech.
By focusing on these aspects while using the video as a resource, you'll find an effective method to learn English with YouTube and develop your speaking proficiency.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.