As the 2026 FIFA World Cup gets underway across the United States, Canada and Mexico, one England supporter is taking in the tournament with a unique twist — one beer at a time.
London-based music industry analyst Gus Hully has spent more than a year collecting a beer, or the closest available alternative, from each of the 48 nations competing in this year’s expanded World Cup. His plan? Open and drink each country’s beverage only after its national team has been eliminated from the tournament.
Hully, 37, who works for the Official Charts Company and supports both England and Cheltenham Town, has documented the ambitious project across social media, where it has drawn attention from football fans around the world. The collection reportedly cost around £250 and required months of planning, trading and international sourcing.
The idea is not entirely new for Hully. He first attempted a similar challenge during the 2014 FIFA World Cup before turning it into a recurring tradition. Since UEFA Euro 2016, he has successfully assembled drinks representing every participating nation in several major international competitions, including the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, multiple European Championships and even recent editions of the Eurovision Song Contest.
The 2026 tournament, however, presented his biggest challenge yet thanks to FIFA’s expansion from 32 to 48 teams. Hully began preparing in early 2025 while qualification campaigns were still underway, gradually tracking down beverages from across the globe through online retailers, collectors and personal contacts.
Among the more unusual additions to the collection were a Panamanian craft beer discovered during a trip to Florida, a Bosnian beer sourced through friends, and beverages from countries including Curaçao, Jordan and Algeria found during searches in northern Paris. One of the most difficult items to obtain was a souvenir bottle from Iraq purchased from a seller in Poland, which ultimately turned out to be a non-alcoholic pineapple-flavored malt drink.
For nations where alcohol is heavily restricted or unavailable, Hully incorporated non-alcoholic alternatives into the collection. Qatar is represented by a pineapple-flavored malt beverage, while Saudi Arabia’s entry is a lemon-mint malt drink acquired through a trade with another collector.
As teams begin exiting the competition, Hully plans to mark each elimination by opening the corresponding country’s drink. With 47 nations destined to fall short of lifting the trophy, the group stage could bring a rapid succession of tastings before the pace slows during the knockout rounds.
His England selection remains untouched for now. Hully has said he intends to save it for last in the hope that the Three Lions can finally end their long wait for World Cup glory.
Photos of the collection — featuring rows of bottles and cans from around the world — have circulated widely online, turning Hully’s personal tradition into a viral talking point among football supporters. The project has resonated with fans as a creative way to celebrate the global nature of the World Cup while exploring the cultures of participating nations.
He’s not the only supporter embracing the idea. Similar projects have surfaced elsewhere, including in the United States, where some fans have begun assembling their own World Cup-themed beer collections to follow the tournament’s progression.
While Hully has suggested the logistical challenge of sourcing beverages from 48 different countries may make this his final full World Cup collection, he has left the door open for future projects tied to smaller international tournaments.
For now, as the world’s biggest sporting event unfolds across North America, Hully’s collection offers a different way to experience the action — one that combines football fandom with a global tasting tour.
