As Asia, South America, and Africa’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers begin, injuries run rampant through all teams.

Players from soccer teams such as Barcelona and Real Madrid suffer from multiple season ending injuries that may prove detrimental for their chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. 

Manchester City also avoided disaster after lead scorer, Erling Haaland, suffered an ankle injury in a friendly game this Thursday. Luckily, this injury doesn’t seem too serious as he is scheduled to play Thursday of next week. 

These injuries are being attributed to the so-called “FIFA Virus.” This phenomenon started in Spain and is where soccer players get injured while on international duty. 

With ACL injuries becoming more and more common in soccer culture, studies are being created to help prevent these serious injuries that can ruin a team’s season. These injuries aren’t limited to the national level, as state and high school teams are also showing increased injury levels.