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LOGISTICS NIGHTMARE: 48-TEAM WORLD CUP DRAW KICKS OFF COMPLEXITY
The draw begins planning for the 48-team, 104-match World Cup 2026, setting the stage for the most complex logistical challenge in football history.
The World Cup, with 16 more teams than in 2022, is coming to North America from June 11 to July 19. It's going to be the most complex one ever from a logistics point of view.
This Friday, there will be a huge ceremony at the Kennedy Centre by the Potomac River. Big names will be there, but Trump is expected to be the main attraction.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Trump are known to be close, and Infantino has visited the White House a few times.
Now, it's expected that Trump will get the first FIFA Peace Prize at the draw ceremony. Infantino said it's to recognise the great work of people who bring others together and give hope to future generations.
The choice of venue is also a nod to Trump, who made himself chairman of the Kennedy Centre earlier this year. The location also gives the U.S. capital a part in the World Cup after it was skipped as a match site.
Heidi Klum and Kevin Hart will host the ceremony. Village People, Andrea Bocelli, and Robbie Williams will perform.
Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, and Shaquille O'Neal will be some of the stars helping with the draw.
Trump is making the World Cup a key part of his second term and the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence next year.
He's also brought domestic politics into the prep, even saying he'd move World Cup matches from cities run by Democrats if he thinks they're unsafe.
Trump said recently, "I would call Gianni, the head of FIFA, who's great, and I would say, 'Let's move it.'" And he would do it.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum will be at the ceremony, too.
Of the World Cup sites, 11 are in the U.S., three are in Mexico, and two are in Canada.
Iran had said it wouldn't attend because the U.S. didn't give visas to some of its people.
Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj called the U.S. decision political. But then Iran said on Wednesday they would send reps, including head coach Amir Ghalenoei.
Lionel Messi's Argentina is the current champion, having won the World Cup for the third time in Qatar in 2022.
They'll be among the top seeds. Other top seeds include European champions Spain, five-time winners Brazil, France, Germany, England, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Belgium. The three host countries also get a top seed.
Expanding the tournament has also opened the door for some first-time teams, like Cape Verde, Jordan, and Curacao.
But not everyone is happy. Former FIFA chief Sepp Blatter told CBS, "The monster has been turned loose," about the 48-team plan.
The teams will be in 12 groups of four. The top two from each group will go on, along with the eight best third-place teams, to the last 32.
For the first time, the draw will make sure the four highest-ranked nations are kept apart. Spain, Argentina, France, and England can't meet until the semi-finals if they all win their groups.
Six spots at the finals still need to be decided in the playoffs. The winners will be among the bottom seeds, so the top teams will want to stay away from Italy, which won the World Cup in 2006 but hasn't made the last two tournaments.
The first match will be at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. The tournament will last nearly six weeks, with the final at MetLife Stadium just outside New York City.
Because it's so complex, teams won't know the full details of their match locations and times until Saturday, the day after the draw.
CRISTIANO RONALDO PROTESTS AL-HILAL'S BENZEMA DEAL BY SKIPPING AL-NASSR LEAGUE MATCH
Cristiano Ronaldo is fuming. Discover why the Al-Nassr star skipped his last match and is now threatening to leave Saudi Arabia.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been the main attraction in the Saudi Pro League ever since he landed in the Middle East three years ago. Now, for the first time, it looks like he’s actually thinking about leaving. He’s frustrated. He feels the playing field isn’t level, and it’s starting to get to him.
Here’s the deal: Four clubs in the league—Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, and Al-Ahli—get their backing straight from the state. But Ronaldo sat out Al-Nassr’s match against Al-Riyadh on Monday night. Why? He was protesting. He found out Al-Hilal was about to sign Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad, and that was the last straw. From Ronaldo’s perspective, Al-Hilal keeps getting more freedom to splash cash than everyone else. They’re the current champions, and Ronaldo still hasn’t managed to win his first Saudi title.
Saudi officials tried to calm him down. According to Diario AS, they reached out and argued that most of Al-Hilal’s extra spending comes from Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, not the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Al-Hilal just brought in Kader Meite for €30 million, Saimon Bouabre for €23 million, and now Benzema. Al-Nassr, on the other hand, only managed two free transfers this winter. Sure, they spent a lot more in the summer, but that didn’t seem to matter to Ronaldo.
Reports from Portugal, cited by AS, say Ronaldo’s not ruling anything out—not even leaving Saudi Arabia this summer. That’s despite just signing an extension with Al-Nassr until 2027.
And honestly, he has a point. Since he arrived, Al-Hilal have spent €647 million, while Al-Nassr have shelled out €410 million and Al-Ittihad €365 million. These numbers probably don’t include salaries—and let’s face it, nobody’s making more than Ronaldo. He’s supposed to return on Friday when Al-Nassr face Al-Ittihad, but right now, no one really knows if he’ll play or if he’s planning his next move.
N’GOLO KANTE SKIPS TRAINING AS AL-ITTIHAD BLOCK HIS MOVE TO FENERBAHCE OFFICIALLY
N’Golo Kante has gone on strike at Al-Ittihad after a paperwork error blocked his move to Fenerbahce. Can he still sign by Friday?
N’Golo Kanté didn’t show up for Al-Ittihad training on Tuesday, and it’s not hard to see why. He was all set to head to Fenerbahçe, but the deal fell apart at the last minute—apparently because Al-Ittihad messed up some paperwork. Kante was supposed to fly to Istanbul and sign, but thanks to this administrative slip, he’s stuck in limbo. There’s still a shot at reviving the transfer sinceKanté Turkey’s transfer window stays open until Friday, February 6.
Kante was one of the first big European names to jump to the Saudi Pro League, joining Al-Ittihad in 2023 after seven years with Chelsea. He’s been a key player in Jeddah, helping Al-Ittihad win the 2024-25 league title and the King’s Cup.
Then, in the middle of the January window, word got out that Fenerbahce wanted him. The Turkish club were eager to add a World Cup winner to their squad. The plan was to swap Kante for Youssef En-Nesyri, who’d head to Saudi Arabia. Everything seemed set until deadline day, when news broke that an error by Al-Ittihad in the Transfer Matching System stopped the transfer cold.
Fenerbahce didn’t hold back. They blamed Al-Ittihad directly, saying they’d done everything right: agreements with the players, medicals, paperwork, all wrapped up on time. But Al-Ittihad entered something wrong in the system, and that was that. Fenerbahçe even asked for an extension and reached out to FIFA, but nothing moved. In the end, the deal died, and Fenerbahçe put out a statement saying they understood the frustration and would keep working to strengthen the squad.
Meanwhile, Kante’s making his feelings clear. According to Ben Jacobs, he skipped training on Tuesday, still hoping the move to Fenerbahce can happen. Santi Aouna says talks between the clubs aren’t dead yet. L’Equipe is reporting that Kanté doesn’t want to play for Al-Ittihad while he waits for FIFA’s decision. With the Turkish window open until Friday, there’s still a glimmer of hope for Kante, though En-Nesyri’s move is off the table for now.
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