At The 2026 FIFA World Cup, 7 Ways To Prevent Soccer Injuries

InnovationHealthcareAt The 2026 FIFA World Cup, 7 Ways To Prevent Soccer InjuriesByBruce Y. Lee,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Bruce Y. Lee, M.D., MBA, covers health, medicine, wellness and scienceFollow AuthorJun 14, 2026, 05:16pm EDTJun 14, 2026, 05:19pm EDTFormer U.S. men's national team striker Jozy Altidore celebrates with current USMNT player Tim Ream #13 after the United States defeated Paraguay 4-1 win to open their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D play in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alex Livesey - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)FIFA via Getty ImagesWith the 2026 FIFA World Cup having started in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, you could say that the game’s afoot. Or many games and many feet. But feet aren’t the only body parts at risk when it comes to playing football or what’s called soccer in the U.S. No, many different parts of the body can get hurt and, in turn, dramatically change the fortunes of any team on soccer’s biggest stage. So let’s go through a lucky seven things that players can do to protect themselves.1. Listen To PainPain can be, well, a pain. It can seem like an obstacle, something that’s keeping you from doing what you want to do like score goals. But longtime U.S. men’s national team striker Jozy Altidore warned against those “fight through pain” mantras that you may hear often. Pain is the body’s way of telling you that something’s not right. “You have to be able to identify when you are in pain and be able to treat the pain at its source before returning to play,” Altidore told me and recalled what happened before the USMNT’s opening match against Ghana in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. “Looking back at it now, I didn’t feel great before the game.” Altidore then suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring tear in the 21st minute of that match, which forced the star player to miss all of the subsequent group stage. “Using myself as a test case, I would have spoken up in that moment,” Altidore re...