MEXICO CITY, Mexico — The World Cup kicks off on Thursday with FIFA betting that the enduring appeal of the greatest footballing show on earth can rise above anger at soaring ticket prices, an uneasy political climate in Donald Trump’s America and the shadow of conflict in the Middle East.

A record 48 teams and millions of fans are set to descend on the United States, Canada and Mexico for the first-ever World Cup co-hosted by three nations, the largest and most logistically complex edition of the tournament ever staged.

The action gets under way at Mexico City’s iconic Estadio Azteca on Thursday, with co-hosts Mexico taking on South Africa, launching a sprawling, nearly six-week-long spectacle that will culminate in the final at New Jersey’s 82,500-seat MetLife Stadium on July 19.

Can Lionel Messi, at the age of 38, settle any lingering debate about his status as the greatest player of all time by leading Argentina to a second consecutive World Cup title?

Or can Messi’s great rival, the 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, defy Father Time by inspiring a talented Portugal team to its maiden World Cup win?

Or will England, led by Harry Kane, finally end the country’s 60-year wait for a second major international championship following their lone 1966 World Cup victory?

Those questions and more will be answered over the course of a tournament that Gianni Infantino, the president of world football’s governing FIFA, has bullishly hyped as “the greatest show that the planet has ever seen”.

Yet Infantino’s breezy optimism has run into hurricane-force headwinds of scepticism during a build-up dogged by concerns over affordability, politics and conflict.

The skyrocketing cost of tickets to the tournament has triggered a global backlash, which has left FIFA and Infantino struggling to mount a convincing public relations defence.

The most expensive ticket for the 2022 World Cup final cost around US$1,600 ($253,000) at face value; in 2026 the most expensive face value ticket being sold by FIFA is an eye-watering US$32,970 ($5 million).

That kind of inflation has been prevalent across the tournament’s 104 matches, where seats for many games remain available on secondary re-sale markets despite huge demand.

Even Infantino’s staunch ally, Donald Trump, has balked at the cost, reacting with surprise when told of the US$1,000 ($158,000) price tag for tickets to the USA’s opening game with Paraguay in Los Angeles on Friday — the first game on US soil.

“I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you,” the US president told the New York Post.

While fans absorb the expense of travel to the tournament, other critics have questioned whether the World Cup party will be soured by the political climate in the United States.

Human Rights Watch says Trump’s crackdowns on immigration, demonstrations and press freedom could lead to a World Cup defined by “exclusion and fear”.

Those fears were fuelled Monday when FIFA dropped a Somali referee from the World Cup after he was denied entry to the United States.

Omar Artan was set to be the first match official from Somalia to referee at a global finals, but he was turned back when he arrived at Miami International Airport on Saturday.

FIFA said it was powerless to influence the decision and announced it had omitted Artan from its 52-strong referees roster.

The US-Israel military strikes launched against Iran in February have also loomed large over the tournament, where Iran are due to play three group games in the United States, starting with their opener against New Zealand on June 15.

Trump initially suggested Iran should withdraw from the tournament for their own “life and safety” before walking back his rhetoric.

Iran meanwhile have switched their base camp from Tucson, Arizona to the Mexican city of Tijuana, where they touched down early Sunday.

While Iran’s players are free to travel in and out of the United States, some 15 administrative and management staff have been denied visas by US authorities in a move Iranian authorities have condemned as “deliberate and discriminatory treatment”.