In the past two decades, international soccer has gotten a glow-up of sorts. Venture capital and oil money have poured into clubs all around the world. The United Arab Emirates owns a dozen clubs in the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia owns a handful. Players come from all around the globe, and get traded, like stocks, for profit. Fans follow the transfer window as closely as the actual games. Being a Manchester United fan these days may have little to do with being from Greater Manchester. Soccer was already drifting in that direction, but now it's largely unbound by borders of any kind: neighborhood, county, or even country. The World Cup, though, is a throwback. Once every four years, players rearrange themselves by national loyalty. The Scots sing their national anthem, ad infinitum. The Norwegians pull out their Viking hats and row. Haitians and Iranians emerge from difficult circumstances to make their countries proud. In his classic book, How Soccer Explains the World, the...
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