Donald Trump is as keen as anyone to celebrate an American soccer success story.
The United States president praised the soccer federations of the U.S., Canada and Mexico on Wednesday morning via Twitter after they won the right to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The U.S., together with Mexico and Canada, just got the World Cup. Congratulations – a great deal of hard work!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2018
The “United Bid” defeated Morocco 134-65 in a vote of FIFA’s member nations to bring the men’s World Cup back to North America for the first time since 1994.
Trump publicly backed the joint bid in April and threatened its would-be opponents with potential retaliation if they favored Morocco.
Justin Trudeau and Enrique Pena Nieto, Trump’s counterparts from Canada and Mexico, respectively, also sent congratulatory messages to the “United Bid.”
Good news this morning: The 2026 FIFA World Cup is coming to Canada, the US and Mexico. Congratulations to everyone who worked hard on this bid – it’s going to be a great tournament! 🇨🇦🇲🇽🇺🇸 #United2026
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 13, 2018
¡Ganamos! Norteamérica será sede del #Mundial2026 #Unidos2026 #United2026 🇲🇽🇨🇦🇺🇸 ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/pcEMAwD5Hw
— Enrique Peña Nieto (@EPN) June 13, 2018
The tournament will be the first under an expanded 48-team, 80-game format (up from the current 32 teams and 64 games). The U.S. will host 60 of the matches, including all from the quarterfinal onward, while Mexico and Canada will host 10 apiece.
