The draw for the 2026 finals in Washington, where Donald Trump is expected to win the majority of the media attention, kicks off on Friday with the first 48-team World Cup draw drawing in full swing.
From June 11 through July 19, the most logistically challenging World Cup will be held in North America, with 16 more teams joining the global competition, an increase from the 32 participating countries in Qatar in 2022.
Trump will take center stage at the Kennedy Center on the banks of the Potomac River for the ceremony on Friday, which will be a star-studded affair.
Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, has visited Trump numerous times over the course of his presidency.
The US President is reportedly expected to be the first person to receive the FIFA Peace Prize, which will be given out at the drawing ceremony, “to recognize the enormous efforts of those individuals who unite people and bring hope to future generations,” as Infantino put it.
Even Trump’s choice of the draw location pays homage to the late 1970s-era entertainer’s center, which he established earlier this year as chairman of the Kennedy Center.
Because it was previously thought that the US capital would not be a match venue, the draw also means that the US capital would be able to participate actively in the World Cup itself.
Heidi Klum, the supermodel, and American comedian and actor Kevin Hart will host the ceremony, which will also feature Village People, Andrea Bocelli,  , and Robbie Williams.
The stars who will assist with the draw include NFL legend Tom Brady, ice hockey legend Wayne Gretz, and former NBA player Shaquille O’Neal.
Trump’s second presidency and the 250th anniversary of US independence atop a major event have made the World Cup his main focus.
However, he has not resisted threatening to move World Cup games from Democratic-run cities if he believes the circumstances are “unsafe” and using domestic politics as a pretext.
“I would call Gianni, the phenomenal head of FIFA, and ask him to move it somewhere else. And he would follow that, Trump asserted recently.
At the ceremony, both the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, and the prime minister of Canada, Mark Carney, will be present.
The United States hosts 11 of the 16 World Cup locations, with Mexico and Canada hosting two of them.
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Iran U-Turn
Iran vowed to boycott the ceremony because the United States had previously refused to grant visas to several members of its delegation due to the political element of the draw.
Mehdi Taj, the president of the Iranian Football Federation, called the decision “purely political.” In response, Iran made a statement on Wednesday that it would now send representatives, including head coach Amir Ghalenoei.
After winning the World Cup for the third time in Qatar in 2022, Lionel Messi’s Argentina are the current champions.
Along with record five-time winners Brazil, France, Germany, England, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Belgium, they will also be among the top seeds. The first pot of seeds is finished by the three hosts.
Cape Verde, Jordan, and Curacao are among the first-time qualifiers as a result of the tournament’s expansion.
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Monster
However, not everyone will agree with Sepp Blatter’s description of the 48-team system in an interview with CBS. “The monster has been unleashed,” Blatter said.
The top two of each group will advance to the last 32 along with the eight best third-placed teams in the group. The teams will be divided into 12 groups of four.
In order to prevent Spain, Argentina, France, and England from meeting before the semi-finals, the draw will be done for the first time to ensure that the four highest-ranked countries are kept apart.
The winners of the playoffs will be among the bottom seeds, meaning that the favorites will want to avoid Italy, who won the World Cup in 2006 but failed to qualify for the previous two competitions, by six places remaining in the finals.
The tournament will begin at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, followed by the MetLife Stadium, which is located just outside of New York City, for the final match.
Teams will only learn the full details of their matchday locations and kickoff times on Saturday, the day after the draw, due to the complexity.
