Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026, Philadelphia man hunts for beers from all 48 countries
The FIFA World Cup kicks off June 11, and 48 countries will be represented this year. One man from Philadelphia is on a mission to collect a bottle of beer produced in each country — merging his affection for soccer and suds ahead of the tournament.
"[I] grew up loving the sport. And then, you know, I became a big beer fan," Garrett Albert said.
He got inspiration for all this four years ago, during the World Cup in Qatar. A friend had left Sam Adams in his fridge. Albert did not drink it immediately, thinking that it could serve as a good luck charm. He waited until the U.S. Men's National Team was eliminated before drinking it. He then thought, why not do this with all the other countries in the tournament?
"I kind of started a little late, so I wasn't able to get a whole lot," Albert said.
For 2026, Albert started scoping beers out a few months ago. He's up to 22 countries out of a total of 48, with beer already secured from places like Belgium, Japan and Australia. Twenty-six remain, including South Africa, Haiti and Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire).
Albert found 13 of his beers so far from the beer store The Foodery.
But he's slowed down a little bit trying to complete his challenge after getting a lot of the bigger countries out of the way.
Some countries may be hard to represent as well, he said leading to possible substitutions for beer if necessary.
"It's going to be Iraq, Iran, Saudi, they're countries that, you know, don't necessarily export a lot of alcohol," Albert said.
Albert is still going to try to get to that goal anyway in hopes of drinking each country's beer as they get eliminated from the tournament. He's had a hard time getting tickets for the matches, but accomplishing this could be the next best thing.
"Maybe this is my way of connecting with the tournament a little bit better," Albert said.
Albert is looking for suggestions for the other 26 and he says you can message him on Instagram if you have any.
