Football World Cup: The United States is hosting two major world football tournaments for two consecutive years. First, the Club World Cup will be held in the United States in June this year. After that, the FIFA World Cup next year. Although the United States is the sole host of the Club World Cup, it is partnering with Canada and Mexico in hosting the World Cup.
FIFA President Giovanni Infantino met with the Trump administration for the first time on the upcoming World Cup. During this meeting, US President Donald Trump said that the opportunity to participate in the 2026 World Cup could be an “incentive” for Russia to end the war with Ukraine.
During the meeting with the FIFA President, Trump said, he did not know that Russia would not be able to participate in the World Cup due to sanctions. However, he indicated that Russia could be included in the World Cup participation process again if the ongoing war with Ukraine ends. At this time, Trump said to FIFA President Infantino, “I did not know that, is that true? Do you want to explain it?”
The FIFA president later said, “Yes, you’re right. They’re not allowed to play for now, but we hope something happens and peace returns so that Russia can be included again.”
After Giovanni Infantino’s explanation, Trump said in his response that such a decision could be an incentive for Russia to stop the war, “It’s possible. That could be a good incentive, right? We want to stop them. We want them to stop. 5,000 people are being killed every week — it’s hard to believe. We will stop this war.
It is worth noting that 48 teams will participate in the World Cup to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Apart from the 3 hosts, 45 more teams are participating in the qualifiers to secure their place. However, Russia is not on that list. Russia has not participated in any official FIFA match since the match against Croatia in 2022. However, during this time they have played 16 friendlies, of which they have won 11.
At the time, Trump said about jointly hosting the World Cup with Mexico and Canada, “I don’t see anything to worry about. We can host very well with both countries. They just have to pay a little more. They’re getting things they shouldn’t be getting. And they understand that.”
