Anthony Rivardo
World Cup fever has officially seized Manhattan, and some of the greatest names in New York Giants and Italian soccer history are helping to lead the charge.
Just one week ahead of the highly anticipated kickoff, Rockefeller Center Plaza was transformed into a global football festival as Panini America launched its monumental FIFA World Cup 2026™ presence. The absolute highlight of the Thursday morning spectacle? A star-studded, cross-continental sticker-swapping session featuring two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning and Pro Bowl center Shaun O’Hara alongside Italian defensive royalty and 2006 World Cup champion Alessandro Nesta.
Gathering around a vintage Panini-branded Citroen Truck, the iconic sports figures swapped strategies, shares, and legendary collectibles, illustrating the exact type of unifying power that sports command when a global tournament lands in your own backyard.
I was on-site at Rockefeller Center Plaza for the festivities, capturing these exclusive insights and watching the legendary interactions unfold firsthand as the city prepared for the world stage.
Inside the Great Sticker Fleecing of 2026
The peak moment of the Rockefeller activation featured a hilarious, high-stakes tactical negotiation between Manning and Nesta that rivaled any NFL draft-day trade. Desperate to track down the tournament’s most elusive assets, Manning successfully secured the coveted sticker of Spanish teenage sensation Lamine Yamal directly from Nesta’s personal stack. The catch? The Italian defensive maestro forced Eli to cough up a steep package of four separate stickers to finalize the transaction.
Nesta unhesitatingly justified the trade value, declaring the 18-year-old Barcelona starlet “the new Messi” and his favorite to win the World Cup MVP. Manning, grinning after clutching his new prize, immediately joked to reporters that executing the lopsided 4-for-1 swap stood alone as “one of the great trades of all time.”
The Childhood Dream of Getting “Carded”
For Nesta, who famously anchored some of the stingiest backlines in AC Milan and Azzurri history, participating in the Panini hub setup struck a deeply personal chord. When reflecting on the sheer cultural gravity of the Panini sticker album phenomenon, the legend admitted that seeing his face printed on an official decal for the first time remains a career milestone.
“It was my dream,” Nesta recalled with a smile. “When I was young, every year, I’d collect the stickers, and I said, ‘One day, I want to be there.’ My first time was when I was 17… honestly, it was a dream.”
When asked by the media to drop his official prediction on who will actually lift the physical trophy when the dust settles, Nesta highlighted two of the tournament’s best squads, predicting either France or Spain to win it all.
MetLife Stadium Takes the Global Stage
While Italy grapples with its third consecutive tournament absence, both Manning and O’Hara expressed total awe over the fact that their old playground, MetLife Stadium, will serve as a premier flagship host city—culminating in hosting the World Cup Final itself.
“I’m super excited. I already know what games I’m going to, I have a few of them picked out. I’m going to see France on June 16th with my kids, they’re so excited,” Manning shared. “I think just to see the fandom, to see these countries coming here representing… to see the fans coming and their excitement. How they watch the game, singing the songs, waving the flags, and the support they have for their country. And then also to root on the U.S. team as well. But excited that New York is a host City, in a stadium where we had so much success, it’s hosting games and hosting the Final. It will be an unbelievable experience and I’m excited to get going.”
O’Hara echoed that exact sentiment, highlighting the profound visual attachment this local tournament will spark for the next generation of tri-state athletes.
“I think it’s really exciting for the people in this area to go and see the games and to have them hosted in your backyard,” O’Hara noted. “I think for the kids, to be able to see some of these superstars, not to just watch it on TV but to be able to see it in person, I think that’s a whole nother level of attachment for the young kids that are playing soccer, that look up to the Nestas of the world, that say ‘I want to be like him, I want my card, I want to be on a Panini card, too.’ So, for the kids to be able to experience that first-hand will be really cool. It’s always fun to watch your country come together, and sports has a great way of doing that.”
And as for the under-construction U.S. Men’s National Team? Manning is fully leaning into his underdog roots:
“I’m rooting for them. I’m excited… I know they’re probably a long shot, but we’ve been a part of some long shots before, and it worked out, so we’ll back them for sure.”
The 2026 Panini World Cup Sticker Album is the largest Panini has ever produced, featuring all 48 teams competing in the 2026 World Cup and 980 stickers to collect. Each team section includes 18 players, a team badge and a team photo (as well as a dedicated Coca-Cola page for stickers that can be found under the label of select Coca-Cola products globally). The album and stickers are available now on Panini’s website, as well as Walmart, Target, Amazon, Walgreens, Dick’s Sporting Goods and additional retailers and hobby shops nationwide.
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