2026 World Cup: The joy of experiencing the first World Cup with your child
By OnzeActu · · 2 min read
The World Cup is always experienced differently in each generation. Reliving your emotions through the eyes of your child allows you to rediscover passion, the discovery of new heroes and the power of football to unite all generations.
There is nothing comparable to the wonder aroused by his first World Cup. For many, it evokes nostalgia for endless summers and the memory of global stars believed to be immortal. Over time, these childhood heroes, like Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos or Kaka, swap the crampons for the stands, but always keep this unique aura. As an adult, tournaments come more quickly, memories fade, but a new magic happens when you discover the competition through the eyes of your children.
For the author, this World Cup marks a precious change: his son, almost six years old, suddenly fell under the spell of football. The sparkle in his eyes when faced with the exploits of the greatest – from Mbappé to Messi via Haaland – brings back the pure joy of childhood. The passionate discussions around Paninis to exchange, the endless debates on “who is better, Messi or Ronaldo?” », and learning the flags and badges of each nation, create so many precious shared moments.
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If the way of following the World Cup has changed - streaming clips in the morning, predictions when you wake up rather than watching the TV on at school - the fundamentals remain intact: filling the album with vignettes, inventing goalscoring scenarios in the garden, dressing up as Harry Kane or Jude Bellingham, and dreaming about the magic of the game. It is also a bridge between generations, between memories of grandfather talking about Pelé and the new stories told via cards or YouTube.
Football, sometimes a source of divisions, proves above all to be a unifying force. The author shares the recent loss of his grandfather, one of whose last gestures was to send vignettes to his great-grandsons. It doesn't matter whether this World Cup remains engraved or is quickly forgotten, the main thing is elsewhere: enjoy the moment, celebrate this all-consuming passion together and cultivate the simple joy of discovery.
So, for this generation, and all those to come, the World Cup remains a suspended moment, an eternal memory to cherish with the family.