U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino pose on the purple carpet upon arrival to attend the draw for the 2026 FIFA Soccer World Cup happening within the US, Canada and Mexico, on the Kennedy Middle, in Washington D.C., Friday. AFP-Yonhap
WASHINGTON — The draw for the 2026 World Cup takes place in Washington on Friday, with Donald Trump set to play a distinguished half in a star-studded ceremony that may map the trail to glory for contenders on the first-ever 48-team finals.
Probably the most logistically advanced World Cup in historical past will probably be held throughout the US, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19, with 16 extra groups added to the worldwide showpiece, up from the 32 nations concerned in Qatar in 2022.
The ceremony on the Kennedy Middle begins at 1700 GMT and can attain far past soccer, with a number of of the largest stars within the American sporting world collaborating whereas Trump takes centre stage.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has developed an in depth relationship with Trump, visiting the White Home quite a lot of instances.
Now the U.S. president is anticipated to be the primary ever recipient of the FIFA Peace Prize, which will probably be awarded throughout the draw ceremony, “to acknowledge the big efforts of these people who unite folks, bringing hope for future generations,” as Infantino put it.
The draw will probably be co-hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum and American actor and comic Kevin Hart, and have performances by the Village Folks, Robbie Williams and Andrea Bocelli.
NFL legend Tom Brady, ice hockey icon Wayne Gretzky and former NBA celebrity Shaquille O’Neal will probably be among the many stars serving to to conduct the draw.
Trump has made the World Cup a centrepiece occasion of each his second presidency and the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence subsequent 12 months.
However he has injected home politics into the preparations, threatening to maneuver World Cup matches from Democratic-run cities if he deems situations “unsafe.”
“I might name Gianni, the pinnacle of FIFA, who’s phenomenal, and I might say, let’s transfer it to a different location. And he would do this,” Trump stated lately.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum arrived for the ceremony. Trump has had tense relations with each of his neighbours in latest months.
In one other political incident surrounding the draw, Iran vowed to boycott the ceremony as a result of the US refused to grant visas to a number of members of its delegation. Ultimately, Iranian head coach Amir Ghalenoei was because of attend.
Eleven of the 16 World Cup venues are in the US, with three in Mexico and two in Canada.
The Azteca Stadium in Mexico Metropolis will host the opening recreation and the ultimate will happen on the MetLife Stadium outdoors New York Metropolis.
Argentina put title on line
Lionel Messi’s Argentina are the reigning champions after successful the World Cup for the third time in Qatar in 2022.
Messi will flip 39 throughout the match however this week informed ESPN: “I hope I may be there. I’ve stated earlier than that I might like to be there.”
Argentina are among the many prime seeds together with European champions Spain, file five-time winners Brazil, France, Germany, England, Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium. The three host nations full the primary pot of seeds.
The choice to broaden the match has additionally cleared the way in which for a number of first-time qualifiers, together with Cape Verde, Jordan and Curacao.
Whereas the enlargement is to not everybody’s liking, FIFA’s head of worldwide soccer improvement Arsene Wenger insisted this week that it was a “pure evolution” and that 48 groups is “the appropriate quantity.”
These groups will probably be cut up into 12 teams of 4, with the highest two from every advancing alongside the eight greatest third-placed sides to the final 32.
For the primary time, the 4 highest-ranked nations will probably be saved aside, which means Spain, Argentina, France and England can’t meet earlier than the semi-finals — so long as all 4 prime their teams.
Six finals berths are nonetheless to be determined in playoffs, the winners of which will probably be among the many backside seeds — the favourites will subsequently wish to keep away from the potential banana pores and skin of Italy, the World Cup winners as lately as 2006 however who did not qualify for the final two tournaments.
Due to the complexity, groups will solely be taught the complete particulars of their match venues and kick-off instances on Saturday, a day after the draw.
