From Trump to Messi, Iran to ICE, politics and sport collide at the biggest World Cup in history

The wait is over for the biggest World Cup ever with 48 teams, 104 matches, three host nations and a slew of questions and controversies swirling around the highly scrutinzed event that will last for nearly six weeks. The tournament kicks off in Mexico City on Thursday amid concerns about soaring ticket prices and political tensions. There are unprecedented logistical challenges to staging a three-country event across the United States, Canada and Mexico. All of that is separate from the on-field drama that will play out through the July 19 final as soccer's top stars battle for the sport's biggest prize. "This will be the biggest, the most inclusive, the greatest FIFA World Cup ever," declared FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has predicted 7 million fans will pack the stadiums and 6 billion more will be watching from afar. "FIFA is the official happiness provider for humanity." That remains to be seen. The tournament kicks off in the U.S., which hosts the majority of the games, at a time of rising inflation, the war in Iran and the Trump administration's policies regarding immigration. Political football (soccer) President Trump has been a big supporter of the World Cup coming to America, repeatedly hosting Infantino at the White House and speaking in glowing terms about the tournament. Infantino has gone to great lengths to strengthen those relations, awarding Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize last year after he was overlooked for the Nobel Prize. There was also the Tiffany-crafted golden Club World Cup trophy, which sat in the Oval Office after America hosted the tournament last year. In an interview with broadcast DAZN, Trump said he asked FIFA when it would pick up the trophy. He was told: "You can have it forever in the Oval Office. We're making a new one." Six months have passed since a German soccer federation official said it was time to consider a World Cup boycott because of Trump's actions, which included threats to take control of Greenland. That was even before the United States and Israel launched military attacks on Iran, which has led to a surge in oil prices and destabilization in the Middle East. It also raised questions about Iran's participation in the World Cup. The team moved its training base from Tuscon, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, called out visa hassles just a week before it opens play and arrived wearing lapel pins highlighting the victims of a deadly missile strike on an elementary school at the start of the war. A 'monumental betrayal' FIFA has come in for fierce criticizm over its ticket pricing strategy for this World Cup, which was already considered an expensive trip. When tickets went on general sale in January they ranged from $140 to $8,680. While some have since been made available for less, others have risen significantly -- up to $32,970 for the final. Fans have accused the governing body of a "monumental betrayal". Resale prices are even higher on the secondary market, with FIFA's own resale marketplace in April listing four tickets to the final for just under $2.3 million each. While FIFA does not control prices on the site, it does take a 30% commission from each resale. Parking for games can cost as much as $175 and fans have been stunned by rising train fares, up from $12.90 to $98 in New Jersey, for example. Infantino has defended ticket prices and said demand was equivalent to "1,000 years of World Cups at once", adding that all 104 matches would be sold out. A recent IPSOS poll, however, found that only 26% of Americans said they were "at least somewhat excited" about the World Cup and 7% were "extremely or very excited." Meanwhile, room bookings have been lighter than expected in most of the 11 U.S. host cities, according to an April survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association. It's going to be big A super-sized tournament across three countries is FIFA's latest World Cup experiment and only time will tell if it works. For some, the quality of the event will seem diluted by expanding the format from 32 teams to 48 and creating room for debutants like tiny Curacao and Cape Verde. Much of the jeopardy of the group stage has effectively been removed with elite teams largely separated. It means the real drama may be put on hold until the round of 16. "There's a balance to be struck between making sure the World Cup is genuinely representative, but it's also meant to be a football tournament that determines who the best team in the world is," said Jonathan Wilson, author of The Power and the Glory: A New History of the World Cup. It's going to be hot One thing FIFA cannot be blamed for is rising temperatures and extreme heat is likely to affect athletes, fans, workers and officials during the games. Some of the sites — the Texas cities of Dallas and Houston, for example, though Kansas City and Atlanta are not immune — could see 'feels like" temperatures above 90 degrees F (32 C). There will be safety measures such as hydration breaks for players and FIFA wound up changing its policy on water bottles for the tournament's 16 stadiums across North America, including some with limited shade from the sun. The GOATS, the underdogs and everything in between Ultimately when it comes to the World Cup, the soccer eventually takes over and there are many potential storylines ahead. Does Lionel Messi have one last great act at the World Cup at the age of 38 and in what is surely his final bow on this stage? Can the 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo land the one major trophy that has eluded him in his record-breaking career? Record five-time winner Brazil is out for its first title in more than 20 years and has turned to iconic Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti to try to end its drought. England has put its faith in German Thomas Tuchel as it tries to end 60 years of hurt. And what about the United States, led by Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino? Can it pull off the biggest World Cup upset of all time on home soil? "If you go into a tournament thinking, 'Oh yeah, we have no chance of winning it,' then what's the point of even going? What's the point of playing?" U.S. captain Tim Ream told The AP. "He (Pochettino) is not shy about speaking about that when we're together... 'Why not us? Why can't we do it?'"