Two weeks into the World Cup soccer tournament, it has already broken records. It has had its highest attendance ever, and generated the most goals scored in history. But one of the biggest stories of the tournament is happening off the field as a wave of international visitors encounter America, and Americans encounter them. Tariq Panja, a global sports correspondent at The New York Times, explains the magic and the complexity of this moment. Then, Anna Foley, a producer for “The Daily,” talks to two lifelong fans of the Iranian team who discuss the complexity of national pride in the middle of war. Guest: Tariq Panja [https://www.nytimes.com/by/tariq-panja], a global sports correspondent at The New York Times. Background reading:  * Iran’s team was eliminated over the weekend, ending a politically charged odyssey [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/28/us/iran-eliminated-world-cup.html]. * Scottish fans in Boston [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/19/us/boston-scotland-soccer-tartan-army.html] charmed the locals. Photo: Kirby Lee/Imagn Images, via Reuters For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily [http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily]. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://nytimes.com/podcasts] or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher [https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher]. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.