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Gen Next Talks the 2026 FIFA World Cup on [cafeteria]
Nearly 500 Gen Z & Gen Alpha soccer fans across the USA gave their real-time take on the 2026 FIFA World Cup. During the tournament, [cafeteria] users spent 67+ hours talking their favorite ads, the pink cleat takeover, and what they'd pay to watch live.
The Cast is the Campaign
Star power + story won the tournament. Nike and Adidas were Gen Next’s favorite ad spots, and for both, the roster was the #1 cited reason.
Nike → The pull was the volume of recognizable faces, not any single name. 16% also praised the execution itself: sharp editing, high energy, a spot that sticks in your head after it ends. A few (8%) also named the Write the Future / Rip the Script storyline.
Adidas → Messi was the most recalled star, followed by Bellingham and Yamal. 10% called the ad clever and original. For 13%, the hook was the Timothée Chalamet cameo, with a few recalling the ad only as the Chalamet one.
After the swoosh and stripes, the standout brand moment wasn’t even an ad.
Levi’s → Their covered up logo ambush marketing was the #1 cited reason (48%). Gen Z & Alpha read it as clever and tongue-in-cheek. Skews female (31% vs. 23% of males).
After the top three, brand moments fragment.
- Coca-Cola (8%), McDonald’s (5%), and the Spider-Man / Sony Messi ad (4%) round out the named brands, with a long tail below 4% each: Michelob Ultra, Kalshi, Pepsi, Budweiser, Google.
“The best brand moment is the Adidas brand, like I said, with Lamine Yamal, Jude Bellingham, um, Trinity Rodman, Timothee Chalamet. I really liked it. I thought it was really like unique and honestly I like the idea of it.”0:00
“I think the Nike ad because all the celebrities were in it and it was also a unique one with the storyline”0:00
“levi changing their logo to be covered up because the fact that they tried to cover up their name gave them way more recognition and exposure than they realized”
Skip-worthy Ads
Most brands missed the mark this year. 68% of Gen Next called the 2026 FIFA World Cup ads “kinda generic”.
The specific gripes behind that verdict:
- Unoriginality: the same playbook every year. Recycled, seen-before, nothing they hadn’t already scrolled past.
- Frequency fatigue: the same spots on a loop, to the point it sours even ads and players they like. Some females mentioned Beckham fatigue.
- AI slop: detectable AI reads as a corner cut. To Gen Next, AI signals low effort and that a brand didn’t care. A few criticized the ChatGPT x Messi ad.
“Beckham’s in every single commercial, but I usually just mute the ads and don’t watch when they come on.”0:00
“Absolutely atrocious ads they are all terrible AI slop, and FIFA is promoting Aramco for some reason”
“the first one that comes to mind that I don’t like is probably the one of Messi dyeing his hair with ChatGPT. It just seems like a strange, like, out-of-pocket ad that I didn’t really care for.”0:00
“they do the same every year meal at McDonald’s and the same generic ads with a different celebrity”
Tickled Pink
2 in 3 approve of the pink takeover (75% of females vs. 58% of males). But their one complaint is the same one they have about the ads: sameness fatigue.
Gen Z & Alpha fans watched the pink cleat takeover turn a standout look into a tournament-wide uniform — and for some, the faux pas was part of the fun.
The appeal is mostly aesthetic: they call it bold, cute, and a welcome pop of color. Other reasons include:
- Some, mostly females, read the men-in-pink as destigmatization and soft masculinity.
- Across genders, some mistakenly assumed the pink was tied to breast cancer awareness.
- A few focused on practicality. The pink is easier to visually track against the grass.
“I am so into it. I really think that everyone wearing the same really keeps us on equal footing. Get it?”0:00
“i love it! i think even the slightest deconstruction of traditional masculinity is awesome and a lot of people just don’t like it for that reason”
“I like the colorway. I like pink basketball shoes, football shoes. I feel like they just show that men can wear the colors that they want to wear.”0:00
“did AI choose the color?!? I heard a rumor that each company asked ai for which color to choose and all ended up on pink?!? it kinda defeats a brands purpose to stand out if everyone stands out 🥲”
Next Gen Players
Gen Next follows soccer’s biggest names for different reasons: legacy, current form, entertainment off the pitch, and future GOAT status.
Messi → the legacy pick who’s still delivering. The only star cited heavily for both his GOAT status and his current dominance, even at almost 40. Fans also point to his skill and style of play, how fun he is to watch, and 2026 being his last World Cup.
Ronaldo → watched on reputation, not current form. A legacy-and-fame profile much like Messi’s, but few cited his current play. The reason to tune in is who he’s been, not how he’s playing now.
Mbappé → the current-form pick. Fans cite how he plays today: speed, finishing, pure entertainment.
Haaland → the social personality. The star most consistently followed for his online content specifically (e.g., memes, Snapchat). Strongest gender skew (25% of females vs. 14% of males).
Yamal → the next-gen pick. Gen Next sees him as a prodigy and the future of football, a GOAT in the making. Some also see a relatable and inspiring young player their own age.
Home advantage doesn’t extend to mindshare. Pulisic, the lone USMNT name Gen Next raised, ranks seventh.
“Erling Haaland is hilarious, especially with the World Cup being mostly in the U.S. for the games he’s playing in, it’s just been hilarious to see. Absolutely been hilarious to see. Him vlogging it all and using Snapchat too, it’s just really funny to me. Good comedy, good entertainment.”0:00
“I’m not a big fan of Argentina, especially because I’m Uruguayan, but I really like Messi as a player and his story, and I think he’s a really good player. And since this is his last match, I am really looking forward to watching him play. And then Vozinha, since he is part of the Cape Verde team, and I’m pretty sure it’s their first World Cup ever, and they’re a really small team. He does soccer part-time. I think that he is really worth a watch, especially because of all the hard work he puts in.”0:00
“yeah, for sure so like I said with Messi, he’s been my inspiration as someone who played soccer ever since I was young just because he plays so humbly and elegantly and then with yamal , like I said before he plays for my favorite club soccer team, which is Barcelona, so I really just wanna see him succeed and also he’s only pretty young, so it’s cool to see somebody so young achieve so much”
“Because Mbappe is the best player in this generation as he is such a prolific scorer for his age and Ronaldo is the GOAT, he’s always been the best.”
Worth the Ticket
Gen Next will pay to be in the stadium — a $250 median for a quarterfinal, and 40% would go $500 or more.
Gen Next soccer fans who also follow basketball tend to be willing to spend more.
- Basketball fans: $300 median, 42% at $500+.
- Football fans: ~$200 median, 35% at $500+.
Cortisol, But Make It Sport
71% are pro penalty kicks as a way to break a tie.
- Among the pro group, 29% cite the drama. They call penalty kicks exciting, intense, edge-of-your-seat.
- Another 23% view them as a clean, logical way to break a tie.
- A smaller group (8%) say it tests nerve, not just skill. The shooter-vs-goalie duel reveals who can hold their cool under maximum pressure.
1 in 4 female fans reject penalty kicks (25% vs. 16% of males). Their main objection: it rewards luck over the match played.
“I think it’s exciting, it’s stressful, and it really shows who’s able to mentally be in the game after playing a long, hard, over 100 minutes of soccer.”0:00
“It’s fair. It’s such a good way to end the game. Imagine if NBA had a three-point shootout instead of tie games.”0:00
“I think penalty kicks are the absolute worst thing ever. I’ve been a soccer fan ever since I was little. I used to play soccer and penalty kicks are the most cortisol-inducing, stressful thing I’ve ever done in my life. I think it’s so unfair because it’s honestly up to luck. It’s up to the goalkeeper to guess where the ball is going and it’s up to the shooter to try and just get it past the goalkeeper. It’s not indicative of skill, it’s literally just luck.”0:00
The Dream Final
Asked to describe their dream World Cup final, Gen Next doesn’t just talk about the matchup. It’s about story, with three narrative arcs: era, identity, and revenge.
- Era. The Messi/Ronaldo age is ending. It’s a changing of the guard, and Gen Next feels both sides: nostalgia for the last dance and appetite for the successor.
- Angles brands can play: the legend lifts it one last time, or the torch pass to the next generation.
- Identity. During the Group Stage — before both bowed out — Gen Next dreamt of Mexico’s moment and Team USA winning at home, on July 4th, in America’s 250th year.
- Angles brands can play: the home-soil fairytale, or an underdog shocking the world.
- Revenge. The most-named dream matchup was the 2022 final, run back — a rematch with a different ending. Close behind were derbies like Brazil vs. Argentina for bragging rights.
- Angles brands can play: the grudge settled, or a rivalry reignited.
“For me, I think it would be Argentina and Spain, led by Leo Messi and Lamine Yamal, respectfully. And then, in the end, I’d like to see Messi get crowned champion once again. Just being able to see him on that stage, do it again, kind of silence the haters for good, would be a really good feeling. Also, against one of those dominant teams, that being Spain, is something that I think would be absolutely fairytale. And I don’t even know if it could happen in reality, but it’d be really great to see for sure.”0:00
“My dream World Cup final is the USA versus England and they would play in Philadelphia just for kicks because of the history there.”0:00
“The dream would be France and Argentina again and they would be settling the one win and one loss from the last two World Cups and it would be Mbappé and Messi trading goals and they’d go into extra time and finally go into penalties and it’d be a really close shootout but France would win past the five penalty mark, they would have to keep going into sudden death and it’d just be overall really exciting.”0:00
Methodology Notes
Findings are based on nearly 500 Gen Z and Gen Alpha soccer fans across the U.S. who responded in real time during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Gender: 49% female, 49% male, 2% non-binary. Age: 19% aged 14–17, 50% aged 18–21, 31% aged 22–26.
All mentions were unaided. Participants were never shown a list to choose from. Every name in this report (e.g., Nike, Adidas, Levi’s, Messi, Yamal) was raised spontaneously, in the respondent’s own words. For example, “32% named Pepsi” means 32% volunteered Pepsi, not that 32% picked it off a menu. Unaided recall is a higher bar than prompted recognition — and a stronger signal of real mindshare.
This is not a traditional survey or panel. With no predetermined answer choices or prompted brand lists, themes surface organically instead of being steered by the question.
How [cafeteria] works. [cafeteria] is the largest private network of Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers, built from millions of direct conversations about the brands, products, cultural moments, and ideas shaping their lives. These happen in the [cafeteria] app as private, one-on-one exchanges — members respond by text or voice note to open-ended, unaided questions, and are paid for their time and insights.
How we analyze. Responses are analyzed through [cafeteria]‘s proprietary technology and by analysts and cultural strategists on our team.
Reading the numbers: because mentions are unaided, most figures are directional floors — they capture what people brought up unprompted, which understates true awareness.
A note on denominators. Most percentages are calculated against the full sample, but some count only the relevant group. Bases are shown in each data visualization.
