Sports
World Cup draw starts countdown to 2026 finals with Trump presiding – SUCH TV
The countdown to the first 48-team World Cup begins in earnest on Friday as the draw for the 2026 finals takes place in Washington, with Donald Trump set to dominate much of the attention.
The most logistically complex World Cup in history will be held across North America from June 11 to July 19, with 16 more teams added to the global showpiece, up from the 32 nations involved in Qatar in 2022.
Friday’s ceremony, at the Kennedy Center on the banks of the Potomac River, will be a star-studded event but Trump will take centre stage.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has developed a close relationship with Trump, including making several visits to the White House.
Now the US President is widely expected to be the first ever recipient of the FIFA Peace Prize, which will be awarded during the draw ceremony, “to recognize the enormous efforts of those individuals who unite people, bringing hope for future generations,” as Infantino put it.
Even the choice of draw venue is a nod to Trump, who earlier this year installed himself as chairman of the Kennedy Center, a performing arts venue opened in the early 1970s.
Holding the draw there also means the US capital gets to play an active role in the World Cup itself having been overlooked as a match venue.
The ceremony will be co-hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum and American actor and comedian Kevin Hart, and will feature performances by Village People, Andrea Bocelli and Robbie Williams.
NFL legend Tom Brady, ice hockey icon Wayne Gretzky and former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal will be among the stars helping to conduct the draw.
Trump has made the World Cup a centerpiece event of both his second presidency and the 250th anniversary of US independence next year.
But he has not hesitated to inject domestic politics into the preparations, threatening to move World Cup matches from Democratic-run cities if he deems conditions to be “unsafe”.
“I would call Gianni, the head of FIFA, who’s phenomenal, and I would say, let’s move it to another location. And he would do that,” Trump said recently.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum will also be in attendance at the ceremony.
Eleven of the 16 World Cup venues are in the United States, with three in Mexico and two in Canada.
Iran U-turn
The political element to the draw saw Iran vow to boycott the ceremony because the United States refused to grant visas to several members of its delegation.
Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj denounced the USA’s decision as “purely political”.
Iran subsequently announced on Wednesday that it would now send representatives, including head coach Amir Ghalenoei.
Lionel Messi’s Argentina are the reigning champions after winning the World Cup for the third time in Qatar in 2022.
They will be among the top seeds along with European champions Spain, record five-time winners Brazil, France, Germany, England, Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium. The three host nations complete the first pot of seeds.
The decision to expand the tournament has also cleared the way for several first-time qualifiers, including Cape Verde, Jordan and Curacao.
‘Monster’
But it is not to everyone’s liking — “The monster has been unleashed,” is how former FIFA chief Sepp Blatter described the 48-team format in an interview with CBS.
The teams will be split into 12 groups of four, with the top two from each advancing alongside the eight best third-placed sides to the last 32.
For the first time, the draw will be done so as to ensure the four highest-ranked nations are kept apart — Spain, Argentina, France and England will not be able to meet before the semi-finals, if all four top their groups.
Six places at the finals are still to be decided in playoffs, the winners of which will be among the bottom seeds — the favourites will therefore want to avoid Italy, World Cup winners as recently as 2006 but who failed to qualify for the last two tournaments.
The opening match will be held at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, before the tournament unfolds over nearly six weeks, culminating in the final at the MetLife Stadium just outside New York City.
Because of the complexity, teams will only learn the full details of their match venues and kickoff times on Saturday, a day after the draw.
The Mountain West has extended commissioner Gloria Nevarez’s contract by four years, through Dec. 31, 2030, the conference announced Thursday.
Nevarez is the Mountain West’s second commissioner and began Jan. 1, 2023, just before a wave of realignment that has reshaped the league.
“I am deeply grateful to the Board for their trust and support,” Nevarez said in a statement. “It is an honor to continue serving the Mountain West Conference and its student-athletes. Over the past three years, we have embraced change and positioned the Conference for sustained success.”
In September 2024, five schools — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State — announced they were departing for the new-look Pac-12, forcing the Mountain West to recruit new members. In the wake of those moves, Nevarez helped secure UNLV and added Hawai’i as a full-time member as well as UTEP, UC Davis (without football), Grand Canyon and Northern Illinois (football only).
“Commissioner Nevarez has demonstrated exceptional leadership during a period of rapid change across intercollegiate athletics,” University of Wyoming president Ed Seidel, chair of the conference’s board of directors, said in a statement. “Her vision, collaborative approach, and steadfast commitment to student-athlete success have strengthened the Mountain West and positioned us for long-term stability.”
The Mountain West football championship game between Boise State and UNLV in Boise, Idaho, is set for Friday at 8 p.m. ET.
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Siena Saints men’s lacrosse coach Liam Gleason died after suffering a traumatic brain injury in a fall at his home, the school announced on Wednesday. He was 41.
With Gleason at the helm, Siena went to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championship and earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament during the 2025 season.
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Siena men’s lacrosse coach Liam Gleason has died at 41. (Carlisle Stockton/Stockton Photo)
“A sudden, senseless loss carries a kind of pain that defies understanding,” Siena University president Chuck Seifert said in a statement. “It’s hard to imagine anyone more universally loved and admired than Liam. Our community was blessed by Coach Gleason’s life.”
Gleason’s family started a GoFundMe to help “ease the burden” on his wife and three children as they navigated the tragedy.
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Siena men’s lacrosse coach Liam Gleason coaching his team. (Carlisle Stockton/Stockton Photo)
“The Gleason family has suffered the most unimaginable tragedy with Liam suffering a traumatic brain injury,” the GoFundMe read. “Anyone who knows him knows what a light he is in this world. Liam is the best father, husband, brother, son, brother-in-law, uncle, coach, and friend. His heart is as big as his 6’5 frame, and the love he gives to those around him is immeasurable.
“Liam’s wife, Jaclyn, and their three beautiful children — Kennedy, Penn, and Tate — who now face a long road of emotional and financial challenges in the weeks, months, and years ahead.”
Gleason coached at Siena for the last seven seasons and was named the conference Coach of the Year in the MAAC and the Eastern College Athletic Conference this past season. Siena was 11-5 overall and earned its first national ranking in 14 years.
The New York native played college lacrosse at the University of Albany.
Siena men’s lacrosse coach Liam Gleason hugs a staffer. (Carlisle Stockton/Stockton Photo)
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Officials said his funeral will be Saturday on Siena’s campus.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Sports
Texans star credits head coach DeMeco Ryans for NFL’s top defense as team aims for another division title
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Will Anderson Jr. has had high expectations since the Houston Texans traded up to the third pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, and he’s lived up to the hype.
After winning Defensive Rookie of the Year, he’s put together back-to-back double-digit sack seasons and is a key component of a stacked defense.
The 16.5 points per game Houston allows is the lowest in the league, and it has again put them right in the thick of the AFC South race.
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Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. leaves the field after defeating the Buffalo Bills at NRG Stadium. (Troy Taormina/Imagn Images)
Anderson was a division champ in each of his first two seasons, and his defense may just be the main reason they can get a third.
The third-year star gives all the credit to his head coach, former linebacker DeMeco Ryans.
“It’s a testament to coach DeMeco and the culture that he’s brought here and the culture that he’s built,” Anderson told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “The way that he played defense and the way he expects his defense to be played, he’s brought people here from coaches to players that can run the defense he wants to run. It’s just a testament to the guys he’s brought in, we all mesh really well together, we share the same mentality, and when you share the same mentality, good things happen.”
Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. (51) celebrates after scoring a touchdown on a Seattle Seahawks fumble in the second half of an NFL football game Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Anderson is hoping he can bring positive vibes from his help in the community to the field. With the help of Raising Cane’s, he attended a Boys & Girls Club in Houston to deliver bikes and helmets to celebrate the holiday season.
“It’s a blessing and I just give all thanks to God, man. He’s blessed me with this platform and to be able to be a servant and give back in my community. Single-parent households, two-parent households, grandparents raising kids, it doesn’t matter, man. Everybody needs to feel love this season of Christmas. So to be able to partner with Raising Cane’s and the Boys & Girls Club, it’s just been a blessed feeling,” Anderson said.
“I remember my first bike, and I wanted the opportunity to help these kids get their first bike. I have a whole bunch of nieces and nephews, so it’s been awesome to see all the smiles and joy and cheerfulness on all the kids’ faces getting their new bikes and riding them around the gym.”
A division win would surely bring even more smiles to those same children’s faces, and the final stretch begins this Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Will Anderson Jr. partnered with Raising Cane’s to give out gifts at a local Boys & Girls Club. (Raising Cane’s)
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“To go into this playoff push that we have, it’s a blessing,” he said. “I’m super excited for the challenge that we have coming up. We just got to keep executing the fundamentals, man, taking it one day at a time. Keep playing our brand football and just raising our standard of who we are the team, and just playing to our standards.”
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