WASHINGTON, June 12 -- Pulitzer Center, an organization that says it combines journalism and engagement, posted the following statement on June 111, 2026, by staffer Domenica Montano:

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After Past Controversies, World Cup Opens With Fanfare

I still remember the first time my country, Ecuador, qualified for a World Cup. It was 2001, and I was 4 years old. I might have been little, but the joy that filled the entire atmosphere is impossible to forget.