President Donald Trump praised cooperation between the United States, Canada and Mexico at Friday’s World Cup draw, even as disputes over North American trade and immigration policy threaten to overshadow next year’s global soccer tournament hosted by the three neighboring countries.
“We have worked closely with these two countries and the coordination, friendship and relationship has been excellent,” Trump told attendees. “I think you’re going to have an event the likes of which the world may not have seen before.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also attended the drawing at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, and the trio appeared on stage to conduct the drawing. They were expected to meet briefly privately with Trump on Friday, and the US leader told reporters ahead of the event that he planned to increase trade and immigration as part of the talks.
Trump has largely drawn praise from his fellow leaders, despite criticizing Canada in recent weeks for its opposition to his tariff regime and Mexico for its immigration and anti-drug policies.
“We had a wonderful relationship,” Trump said.
The glossy showcase allocates the participating countries’ matches to be played in host cities in all three countries. While the teams will find out which opponents they will face in the first round on Friday, FIFA will announce where the matches will be played on Saturday. The event doubled as another opportunity for Trump to make his mark at the tournament as international governing body FIFA did its best to curry favor with the president.
Trump was given the floor to accept the newly created FIFA Peace Prize, awarded to a president after he lost his coveted Nobel Peace Prize. Trump called it “truly one of the great honors of my life.”
Even some of the musical acts chosen to perform in the draw — Andrea Bocelli and the Village People — are Trump favorites.
The World Cup promises to attract huge numbers of spectators and international fans to North America, and organizers have said they expect unexpected events for the 16 host cities, 11 of which are in the US.
“No one has ever sold that many tickets, and you’re a long way from the ball being kicked on the field,” Trump said.
But organizers’ plans to roll out a welcome mat for fans around the world have run afoul of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, which has included high-profile raids led by undercover agents, restrictions on travel to the US and harsh anti-migrant rhetoric.
Trump’s team expressed confidence that the steps, including an expedited visa process for fans, will ease concerns about coming to the US. But critics said the administration’s actions and message on immigration had already shaken the spirit of global unity that the World Cup is supposed to embody.
The US restricted entry to travelers from 19 countries in June and this week moved to further tighten immigration restrictions after the shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan national. Trump has also threatened to move the World Cup games out of the Boston area if he thinks the Democratic-run city is unsafe, though he told reporters on Friday he did not want to do that and believed he could solve any problems. The games are held in the suburbs of Foxborough.
While the event will require close coordination among the three host countries, Trump is battling with Canada and Mexico over trade, immigration and national security. The president has openly considered launching strikes against drug cartels in Mexico and turning Canada into the 51st US state. He recently threatened to withdraw from the North American trade pact he negotiated during his first term.
The president was heavily involved in the planning and promotion of the upcoming tournament, often hosting FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the White House. The organization opened an office in Trump Tower in June.
Trump set up a World Cup task force to handle the logistical and security challenges surrounding international soccer’s premier showpiece, and he took the lead. Andrew Giuliani, son of Trump ally Rudy Giuliani, serves as the panel’s executive director.
Forty-two of the 48 nations that qualify for the World Cup are finalized for the World Cup, and a play-off in March will determine the final six spots. During the draw, FIFA divides the 42 teams and six substitute players into 12 banks of four teams.
As the host country, the US gets a significant advantage as the first seed in its pot, as do the other two hosts, Canada and Mexico. The other top nine seeds are the highest ranked countries in the world: Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
The US men’s national team, ranked 14th in the world, has never won a World Cup. Its all-time best finish was third place in the first tournament in 1930. In contrast, the US women’s national team is the most successful in history with four World Cup victories.
The draw at the Kennedy Center came months after Trump ousted the cultural center’s bipartisan leadership over criticism of what he called “woke” programming and installed allies — as well as himself as board chairman — in their places.
The event was co-hosted by comedian Kevin Hart, supermodel and TV personality Heidi Klum, and actor and producer Danny Ramirez. It featured live performances by musicians including Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger, as well as other acts.
The president often uses sports as a platform to promote his own profile and policies.
He attended the 2025 Club World Cup final and stood on stage at the trophy ceremony with the winners. Trump invited Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo to a gala dinner with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and hosted Italian powerhouse Juventus at the White House earlier this year.
Trump has also appeared at the Super Bowl, Ryder Cup, Daytona 500, US Open Tennis Championships, as well as several UFC matches, a New York Yankees game and the NCAA Wrestling Championships.
This article was generated from an automated news agency source without text modification.
