The 2026 FIFA World Cup final promised football history, but before Spain and Argentina even kicked a ball, it was Tom Cruise who became one of the night's biggest talking points.
While some applauded his enthusiasm and even praised him for calling the sport 'football' rather than 'soccer', many others branded the moment 'tone deaf', arguing that an American movie star addressing a largely Spanish-speaking football audience perfectly summed up what they saw as an increasingly Hollywood-style World Cup.
