With the biggest-ever World Cup ready to kick off across Canada, Mexico and the USA, here we look at the key storylines.

"Christian Pulisic is never going to be the personality people want him to be, the leader people want him to be. He's going to lead by example," FOX Sports analyst Alexi Lalas told Colin Cowherd on Monday's edition of "The Herd."

In a 48-team field, not all roads to the World Cup final are created equally.

Spain is expecting teen phenom Lamine Yamal to be available for the June 15 World Cup opener against Cape Verde in Atlanta. The 18-year-old midfielder missed the end of Barcelona’s season with a left hamstring strain,

This year’s edition of the World Cup will be the biggest ever with an expanded field of 48 teams, three host countries and 16 stadiums staging the record 104 matches over the 39-day tournament.

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With the World Cup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico spread out over such a wide geographic area, teams have looked to get strategic with their base camp selection. The result has been bringing a World Cup presence to some of the more unexpected locations throughout the U.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup winner will most likely be a repeat victor. Six of the seven countries with the shortest odds to win the World Cup have at least one championship in their history. Spain, the 2010 champion, comes into North America as the slight favorite over two-time winner France.