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.
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Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor was hospitalized on Friday, TMZ reported.
The New York Giants legend suffered a medical emergency in New Jersey, warranting the visit, the outlet said.
Taylor’s status is unclear at this time, but TMZ said that it does not appear to be serious, citing “those close to” him.
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Former New York Giant Lawrence Taylor attends a game between the Giants and the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Jan. 1, 2023. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Taylor’s former Giants did not immediately respond to an email.
L.T. is widely regarded as the greatest linebacker to ever play. He was a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, including in his rookie season.
He won two Super Bowls, made 10 straight Pro Bowls and was named the MVP of the 1986 season. He also remains the franchise’s all-time sacks leader, which includes his 9½ sacks from his rookie season, before sacks became a stat.
New York Giants legend Lawrence Taylor enters the field before a game against the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sept. 8, 2024. (John Jones/Imagn Images)
This came despite a lavish lifestyle off the field, which resulted in legal troubles after his playing days. Drug problems have also resulted in health problems later in life.
Taylor showed his support for President Donald Trump in 2024, appearing at a rally in Wildwood, New Jersey.
“I grew up a Democrat, and I’ve always been a Democrat, until I met this man right here,” Taylor said to cheers. “Nobody in my family ever will vote for a Democrat again.”
President Donald Trump and former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor attend an executive order signing ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 31, 2025. The order formally reestablishes the Presidential Fitness Test, creating school-based programs that reward excellence in physical education. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg)
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Taylor made Giants headlines last year when he quickly turned down Abdul Carter’s request to wear his No. 56 that has been retired by the organization since 1994, just one season after he retired.
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KARACHI: Islamabad United on Friday handed Hyderabad Kingsmen a humiliating eight-wicket defeat in the 36th match of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 at the National Bank Stadium.
The victory, which marked United’s fifth in the ongoing eight-team tournament, propelled the three-time champions into the playoffs, joining leaders Peshawar Zalmi and 2021 champions Multan Sultans.
Set to chase a modest 81-run target, the United comfortably knocked the winning runs for the loss of just two wickets and 80 balls to spare.
The 2024 champions, however, had a contrasting start to the pursuit as they lost left-handed opener Devon Conway (zero) on the second delivery of the innings.
But Sameer Minhas and Mohsin Riaz batted sensibly to put United within touching distance as they put together 79 runs for the second wicket until Ali struck again, dismissing Riaz, who top-scored with 42 off just 18 deliveries, studded with six fours and two sixes.
Minhas, on the other hand, remained unbeaten with 27 off 20 deliveries, featuring three fours and a six, while skipper Shadab hit the winning runs in the same over with a boundary on the first delivery he faced.
For the Kingsmen, Mohammad Ali remained the solitary wicket-taker in the gruelling defeat with two scalps.
United captain Shadab Khan’s decision to field first paid dividends as his team’s bowling unit booked the new entrants for 80 in 15.5 overs.
Kingsmen got off to the worst possible start to their innings as Gleeson dismissed Maaz Sadaqat (zero) on the first delivery of the innings.
The right-arm pacer swept through their top order by getting rid of Marnus Labuschagne (five) and Saim Ayub (12) in his next two overs and brought the total down to 24/3.
Following Gleeson’s early blitz was backed by the experienced spin duo of captain Shadab and Imad Wasim as they dismantled Kingsmen’s middle and lower orders by taking three wickets each despite last match centurion Usman Khan’s grit.
The wicketkeeper batter waged a lone battle for the Kingsmen with an unbeaten 25 off 35 deliveries, during which he struck only one boundary.
Besides Usman and Saim, only Kusal Perera and Asif Mehmood, 12 each, could amass double figures against a ruthless United bowling attack.
For United, Gleeson, Imad and Shadab bagged three wickets each, while left-arm pacer Salman Mirza chipped in with one scalp.
Playing XIs
Hyderabad Kingsmen: Maaz Sadaqat, Marnus Labuschagne (c), Saim Ayub, Kusal Perera, Usman Khan (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Hassan Khan, Hunain Shah, Mohammad Ali and Asif Mehmood.
Islamabad United: Devon Conway (wk), Sameer Minhas, Mark Chapman, Mohsin Riaz, Shadab Khan (c), Haider Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Chris Green, Imad Wasim, Richard Gleeson and Salman Mirza.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday Washington had no objections to Iranian players participating in the 2026 Fifa World Cup but he added the players will not be allowed to bring with them people with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“Nothing from the US has told them they can’t come,” Rubio told reporters.
President Donald Trump also said his administration “would not want to affect the athletes” in comments he made at the White House.
The 2026 soccer World Cup is set to begin on June 11 across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Paolo Zampolli, a Trump envoy who has no official connection with the World Cup, had earlier suggested that Italy should replace Iran at the tournament.
“The problem with Iran would be not their athletes. It would be some of the other people they would want to bring with them, some of whom have ties to the IRGC. We may not be able to let them in but not the athletes themselves,” Rubio said.
“They can’t bring a bunch of IRGC terrorists into our country and pretend that they are journalists and athletic trainers,” Rubio added. Washington has designated the IRGC as a “foreign terrorist organisation.”
Currently there is no suggestion Iran will withdraw or be banned from the tournament that Italy missed out on.
After the start of the Iran war, Iran requested that Fifa move the team’s three group matches from the US to Mexico, which was rejected.
The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states with US bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. A fragile ceasefire in the Iran war began over two weeks ago.
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