Your ultimate (and deadly serious) survival guide to the 2026 World Cup
13/5/2026
Translation: Katherine Martin
The 2026 World Cup will be big, raucous and full of emotion. Don’t want to be caught short between kickoff, raclette, VAR rage and penalty shootouts? Follow this survival guide to turn your living room into a fan zone.
The World Cup – taking place in the US, Canada and Mexico – is just around the corner. Once again, it’ll turn living rooms, gardens and balconies into scenes of heightened emotion and questionable tactical analysis. There’ll be snacks on the table, a game playing on a screen and someone, somewhere shouting, «That was an unbelievable sitter!» You probably won’t be out on the pitch yourself, but you’ll be watching the action on the edge of your seat, feeling every setback and triumph. And at least once, you’ll be convinced you’re the one with the better game plan.
To make sure you’re well prepared for all this, you’re going to need some equipment.
Preparation: turning the living room into a fan zone
A good football-watching session doesn’t start at kickoff – it starts with the right setup. Sure, a TV will work just fine. But if you’re serious about match day, you’ll think bigger. A Full HD projector will turn your living room wall into a stadium. Japan vs. Tunisia will suddenly go from being just another group-stage game to a cinematic event with tactical depth and a slightly OTT aspect ratio.
EUR745,–
XGIMI Halo+ 2.0
Full HD, 700 lm, 1.2:1
EUR499,–
Samsung The Freestyle 2nd Generation
Full HD, 230 lm, 1.2:1
EUR349,79
Xiaomi Smart Projector L1 Pro
Full HD, 400 lm
EUR1099,–
Epson Lifestudio Flex - EF-72
4K, 1000 lm, 1.2:1
LG OLED77G57LW
77", G5, OLED, 4K, 2025, CH
Samsung QE75QN90FAT
75", QN90F, NeoQLED, 4K, 2025, CH
To enjoy this, you’ll need a seat you won’t willingly get out of during extra time. A beanbag is perfect for this: comfortable enough for 120 minutes of football, with enough give for bad referee calls and far less punishing than a typical dining chair after three servings of raclette.
Refreshments are every bit as important. Having a portable mini-fridge, such as this one from Tectake, will stop you from having to run to the kitchen right in the middle of a counterattack. Klarstein’s Spark Ice ice cube maker and Trisa’s Silver Stream drinks dispenser have the power to turn your living room into a self-service fan zone. Minus the queues, takeaway cups and people spilling beer on your shoes, that is.
Since some of this year’s World Cup matches might run into the early hours of the morning, you’ll also need coffee. Officially speaking, the De’Longhi Dedica portafilter machine is supposed to be for the morning after. Unofficially, you can fire it up during extra time, once your body’s long since decided that watching the highlight of South Korea vs. South Africa tomorrow will do.
At halftime, you’ll need some hot food. Yes, crisps are fine, but raclette sends a message: «We take match day seriously.» A raclette grill turns a group-stage match into a social event.
Match day: no jersey, no say
There’s no room for neutrality on match day. You may claim that you’re «just there to watch good football», but once your national team makes its first bad pass, you’ll be sitting there in your jersey, loudly proclaiming that the referee’s missed a blatant foul.
A football jersey isn’t a piece of clothing. It’s a stance.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a women’s, men’s or kids’ top you’re wearing. Putting on the Swiss national team jersey won’t make you faster, a better shooter or more tactically disciplined. What it will give you, however, is any football fan’s most important right: the right to speak in the first-person plural, without question. We’re in our own half too much. We need to press earlier. We need to use the full width of the pitch. And why isn’t anyone at the far post?
Goalie jerseys have a special status. Any time the opposing team scores, the person wearing a goalie top has the right to say, «I would’ve saved that.» Even if they spent their last amateur tournament in goals due to a poorly timed stitch. Even if they haven’t caught a ball since 2009. Goalie jerseys are also available for kids: perfect for dramatic back-garden saves, complete with a dive onto grass, artificial turf or, in a pinch, even a rug.
You can find a selection of different countries’ jerseys here.
Round two: make some noise!
The best thing about a home fan zone? No one can kick you out of it. On the flip side, you need to make all the noise yourself.
A vuvuzela isn’t an instrument – it’s a condition. Volume regulation, tactical use and neighbourly consideration aren’t part of its repertoire. All it knows how to do is «BOOOOO». Which, sometimes, is the most honest assessment of the first half.
For something with even more authority, check out the Avizar Bluetooth megaphone. It’ll allow you to shout your tactical directions around the living room, booming «stay cool» as if you didn’t already lose yours several minutes ago. A Wonday whistle is the perfect item to top it all off. With it, you’ll be able to call fouls, call breaks at random or remind the kids that the barbecue area’s officially off-limits.
Taking it up a notch: when your sofa becomes a public screening
Eventually, your sofa just won’t cut it anymore. Your home will turn into a public screening area, with friends and neighbours dropping in. Someone will bring a salad that no one touches. Suddenly, a guy only known to you as «Martin’s colleague» will be sitting in your garden, regaling you with very strong opinions about the back four.
This is when it’s time to get out the fan merch. The centrepiece? A Lego version of the official FIFA World Cup trophy. And it won’t just be lying around. It’ll be a backdrop, a symbol and a consolation prize rolled into one. You can ceremoniously present it before the game, hold it aloft after a victory and silently turn it around after a defeat. It’s the only World Cup trophy guaranteed to come to Switzerland.
To make the most of halftime, you’ll need the Trionda Pro World Cup ball from Adidas. It looks like it’d make any shot dangerous. In reality, it’ll probably end up in a hedge at some point. Still, at least you can say, «That ball has a weird flight path.» It’ll sound more professional than: «I kicked that completely wrong.»
Throw in a set of goal posts from Bazookagoal or Hudora and you can turn your back garden into a small-scale stadium. The kids will play Switzerland versus the rest of the world, the adults will say they’ll «join in for a bit», then, five minutes later, explain that they actually used to be pretty good. They’ll usually follow this up with a super-long water break, silently glancing at their own calf.
If you prefer tactical analysis on a smaller scale, the German Football Association’s Goretzka vs. Rüdiger Playmobil set might be up your street. Officially speaking, it’s a toy. Unofficially, it’s a personal dugout for pressing, tackles and asking why the centre back was suddenly in the opposing team’s penalty area in the 87th minute. No judgement.
Following the winter World Cup in Qatar, the 2026 tournament will be a summer affair. The summer sun’s rays will go way beyond just the US, Canada and Mexico – they’ll hit your balcony or patio too. With the right eyewear, you’ll look like someone who’s keeping track of the match, the weather and the transfer market all at once.
With the right sunscreen, you’ll be protected from sunburn. Let’s face it, red and white are fine as team colours. As a skin tone, less so.
The crisis: when the VAR ruins your life
At every World Cup, there comes a point when you start to doubt everything. Football. Fairness. Humankind. It usually starts with the phrase: «The ref is bound to take another look at that.»
The VAR is there to correct obviously wrong calls. In reality, it sometimes feels like a group therapy session for people with a heart rate of 180. You’re standing in front of the screen, everyone in the room falling silent. A raclette pan clinks somewhere in the background. Then the referee draws that rectangle in the air. There’s nothing meaningful to be said after that. Nevertheless, no one can stop talking.
For moments like these, you need the Gymstick stress ball. It’ll absorb all the things you shouldn’t shout at the screen. Press it once after every offside goal. Twice after each hand ball. After every «As the rules currently stand, that’s the right call,» press it until your palm starts to squeal.
A stress punching bag provides even more immediate relief. You can have it at the ready for missed passes, shots that bounce off the post and commentators who insist on calling a 0-0 game an «intriguing battle of tactics». If everything’s going wrong on the pitch, it’ll at least give you the chance of one unmissable shot.
And then there are the losses. They never come at a convenient time – and when they happen, they always hit you with full force. If you haven’t needed them already, this is the time to whip out the tissues. Be it for real tears, fake tears, the steam from the raclette getting into your eyes or the moment when someone says, «We actually kinda deserved to get knocked out.»
When reality bites too hard
Sometimes, even the best survival equipment just won’t cut it. When all else fails, all that’s left is EA Sports FC 26. If reality proves too disappointing, simply fire up your console and download the game.
In this game, you’ll make the right subs and score in the penalty shootout. The manager won’t insist on any weird formations. And if they do, well, you’ll be the manager.
Football can be cruel. But there’s mercy to be found in the restart button.
Recovery: the morning after
After the game comes the clean-up. And after four weeks of the World Cup, your living room will definitely have seen some sights. Cheering, cheese, ice cubes, coffee cups, sun cream stains, emotional breakdowns and at least one person who fell asleep during extra time.
This is when the recovery phase begins, with sleep being one way to get that show on the road. Our beds will help you drift off peacefully after late-night games – even if you did say you wanted to «watch a bit of the post-match analysis.»
It’s a good idea to set up an air purifier to keep your indoor air quality top-notch. The device will be able to tackle the fug produced by raclette, tension and a room full of bodies. As for whether it can purify the air of your mate’s dodgy match commentary? The science on that is still inconclusive.
During the World Cup, hygiene doesn’t just extend to clean air. It’s also about psychological hygiene. So wash your jersey, put your whistle away, turn off your megaphone and stash your vuvuzela until the next major match-day commotion. Dust off your Lego cup and give the stress ball a rest. Then maybe head out for a while, without checking who’s playing at 9 p.m. tonight immediately beforehand.
At Galaxus, you’ll find pretty much everything you need for the World Cup. Electronics, jerseys, goals, coolers, coffee, raclette, fan merch, sunscreen, tissues and even remedies for the most severe football-related jitters.
The only thing you won’t find in our product range is hope.
But let’s be honest, that’s exactly why we keep tuning in.
Header image: Pressmaster / Shutterstock
My interests are varied, I just like to enjoy life. Always on the lookout for news about darts, gaming, films and series.
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