More from PST Latest USMNT news | 2018 World Cup | Premier League transfer news

Getty Images

WATCH: 2018 World Cup – Day 2

By Joe Prince-WrightJun 15, 2018, 2:02 PM EDT
1 Comment

Get planning for Day 2 of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

[ MORE: Latest 2018 World Cup news ] 

We are in for a busy day of action after the opening match on Thursday which saw hosts Russia hammer Saudi Arabia.

Group A’s second game takes place as Egypt and Uruguay collide with both nations the favorites to advance to the Round of 16.

And Group B play also kicks off with perhaps the game of the whole group stage, with Iberian rivals Portugal and Spain clashing in Sochi. Morocco and Iran meet in Saint Petersburg elsewhere in Group B.

Below is Friday’s schedule in full.

Click here for live and on demand coverage of the World Cup online and via the NBC Sports App.

2018 World Cup schedule – Friday, June 15

Group A
Egypt v Uruguay: Ekaterinburg, 8 a.m. ET – LIVE COVERAGE

Group B
Morocco v Iran: Saint Petersburg, 11 a.m. ET – LIVE COVERAGE
Portugal v Spain: Sochi, 2 p.m. ET – LIVE COVERAGE

Trump on 2026 World Cup: “I worked hard on this”

Getty Images
By Joe Prince-WrightJun 15, 2018, 8:09 AM EDT
7 Comments

Donald Trump has intimated that he played a big part in the United States of America, Mexico and Canada winning the right to co-host the 2026 World Cup.

The president of the USA released a message following the success of Wednesday’s vote which saw the United 2026 bid win at a landslide against their only competitors, Morocco.

[ MORE: 2026 World Cup to USA, Mexico, Canada ]

Reports ahead of the final vote claimed that Trump sent several letters to FIFA’s member associations reassuring them over fears regarding visas and immigration during the tournament, even though he wouldn’t be in office even if he won a second term as president of the U.S.

Below is Trump’s message in full.

Ranking potential host cities for 2026 World Cup

Getty Images
By Joe Prince-WrightJun 14, 2018, 9:40 AM EDT
12 Comments

With the excitement of the 2026 World Cup being awarded to the United States of America, Canada and Mexico, a lot of the focus has already switched to one thing: where will the games be played?

[ MORE: Full details on 2026 World Cup ]

Given the huge distances between potential host cities, the envy of certain stadiums being on the list of 23 potential venues is very real across some parts of the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

But with that initial list of 23 cities set to be whittled down to 16 in the coming years, and the likes of Vancouver and Chicago not even making that final list as both pulled out, it is a ridiculously tough decision to finalize where the World Cup games will be played.

Below is a ranking of the potential 23 host cities, with seven to miss out.

With the joint bid involving the USA, Mexico and Canada but 60 of the 80 games to be played in the U.S., you would think that a fair distribution of 10 U.S. cities and three each for Mexico and Canada is what the bid is looking at as their aim is to reach as many people as possible across all three countries.

But, when you think about it, maybe 12 U.S. cities and two each from Mexico and Canada would work a little better. With that in mind, we have two scenarios below as the geography of spreading the games out across North America is extremely tough. 

Here’s a look at where we think the games will be played during the 2026 World Cup but, of course, a lot can change in the next eight years…

Scenario 1 – (10 U.S. cities, 3 Mexican cities, 3 Canadian cities)

  1. New York/New Jersey – MetLife Stadium
  2. Mexico City – Azteca Stadium
  3. Toronto – BMO Field
  4. Los Angeles – Rose Bowl
  5. Boston – Gillete Stadium
  6. Miami – Hard Rock Stadium
  7. Dallas – AT&T Stadium
  8. Washington D.C. – FedEx Field
  9. Atlanta – Mercedes Benz Stadium
  10. Montreal – Olympic Stadium
  11. Monterrey – Estadio BBVA Bancomer
  12. San Francisco/San Jose – Levi’s Stadium
  13. Guadalajara – Estadio Akron
  14. Kansas City – Arrowhead Stadium
  15. Seattle – CenturyLink Field
  16. Edmonton – Commonwealth Stadium

Seven cities to miss out

  1. Philadelphia – Lincoln Financial Field
  2. Houston – NRG Stadium
  3. Baltimore – M&T Bank Stadium
  4. Cincinnati – Paul Brown Stadium
  5. Denver – Mile High Stadium
  6. Nashville – Nissan Stadium
  7. Orlando – Camping World Stadium

Scenario 2 – (12 U.S. cities, 2 Mexican cities, 2 Canadian cities)

  1. New York/New Jersey – MetLife Stadium
  2. Mexico City – Azteca Stadium
  3. Toronto – BMO Field
  4. Los Angeles – Rose Bowl
  5. Boston – Gillete Stadium
  6. Miami – Hard Rock Stadium
  7. Dallas – AT&T Stadium
  8. Washington D.C. – FedEx Field
  9. Atlanta – Mercedes Benz Stadium
  10. Houston – NRG Stadium
  11. San Francisco/San Jose – Levi’s Stadium
  12. Philadelphia – Lincoln Financial Field
  13. Montreal – Olympic Stadium
  14. Monterrey – Estadio BBVA Bancomer
  15. Kansas City – Arrowhead Stadium
  16. Seattle – CenturyLink Field

Seven cities to miss out

  1. Baltimore – M&T Bank Stadium
  2. Denver – Mile High Stadium
  3. Cincinnati – Paul Brown Stadium
  4. Nashville – Nissan Stadium
  5. Orlando – Camping World Stadium
  6. Edmonton – Commonwealth Stadium
  7. Guadalajara – Estadio Akron

2026 World Cup awarded to USA, Mexico, Canada

By Joe Prince-WrightJun 13, 2018, 6:57 AM EDT
6 Comments

The 2026 World Cup is coming to North America.

[ LIVE: 2018 World Cup scores ] 

During the 68th FIFA Congress in Russia on Wednesday the member associations voted for the “United Bid” which will see games played across the United States of America, Mexico and Canada in 2026.

The joint bid beat Morocco’s World Cup bid, as 203 FIFA members in total voted with 134 voting for the United bid. Morocco received 65.

[ MORE: Latest 2018 World Cup news ]

This is the first time the World Cup will be held in North America since the 1994 edition which was hosted solely by the USA. It is also the first time a tournament will be co-hosted by three countries.

The 2026 World Cup will be the largest-ever with 48 teams competing in 80 games, with 60 matches to be played in the USA plus 10 in each of Mexico and Canada.

From the start this bid was the overwhelming favorite to win the right to host the tournament and it promises to generate over $11 billion in profits for world soccer’s governing body.

With 23 stadiums across the three countries on the shortlist already built (that list will be whittled down to 16) and ready to host the World Cup tomorrow, this tournament will be headache free for FIFA as they will focus on fine-tuning events surrounding the games.

Three host cities have been selected in each of Mexico (Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City) and Canada (Edmonton, Montreal and Toronto), while the other 16 potential host cities are all in the USA (Seattle, New York/New Jersey, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Denver, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Nashville, Orlando, San Francisco/San Jose, Cincinnati).

Politically this is also a big win for the U.S., Mexico and Canada as the three nations will work closer together to host the mammoth event.

June 13, 2018 will go down as a historic day in the story of soccer in North America.

How will 2026 World Cup vote work?

AP
By Joe Prince-WrightJun 12, 2018, 10:28 AM EDT
1 Comment

The vote for who will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup takes place in Moscow on Wednesday, June 13 during the 68th FIFA Congress as the North American bid and Morocco go head-to-head.

[ LIVE: World Cup scores ] 

Below is a breakdown on exactly how the voting system will work, as FIFA’s 206 member associations able to vote (Morocco, USA, Canada and Mexico are unable to vote as their bidding to be hosts) will decide which bid wins. 104 is the magic number.

There is also the small chance of both bids failing if enough votes are made for the third option on the ballot which is “None of the Bids – Reopen Bidding Process” as both the North American and Moroccan bid will lose and bids from other continents will be able to make a future bid to host the 2026 tournament.

[ MORE: Latest 2018 World Cup news ]

Some projections have this being a close run thing with the joint U.S.-Canada-Mexico bid just ahead of Morocco but not having over 50 percent of the vote in the opening round, thus meaning a second round of bidding will take place. Whichever option has the most votes in a simple majority at the end of the second round will win the right to host the tournament.

Okay, with a little help from FIFA’s guidelines on the revamped bidding process, here we go…

How the voting process to select the 2026 FIFA World Cup hosts will work

  • The question to be put to the 68th FIFA Congress in connection with the vote shall be: “Do you want to award the right to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup
    final competition to the bid submitted by the Moroccan Football Association, to the joint bid submitted by the CSA, FEMEXFUT and the USSF (“United Bid”), or to none of them (thus reopening the bidding process, excluding the four member associations having already submitted a bid)?”
  • Voting may be conducted by electronic means. In this case, the possible votes are: “Moroccan Football Association Bid”; “United Bid”; or “None of the Bids – Reopen Bidding Process.”
  • If a FIFA Congress member does not vote for any of these options, this shall be counted as an abstention. The result of each ballot and the related votes by the members of the FIFA Congress shall be made public on immediately after the conclusion of the Congress.
  • The result will be announced immediately after the vote has been conducted by showing it on the screen at the FIFA congress.
  • In accordance with art. 69 par. 2 (d) of the FIFA Statutes, if fewer than three bids are presented to the Congress, a simple majority (more than 50%) of the valid votes cast is required for a decision on the host. In accordance with art. 11 par. 1 of the Standing Orders of the Congress, invalid votes or electronic votes manipulated in any other way as well as abstentions are to be disregarded when calculating the simple majority.
  • If one of the two bids obtains a simple majority in the first ballot, it shall be awarded the right to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The other bid shall be deemed to be rejected by FIFA. This decision is final.
  • If the third option (“None of the Bids – Reopen Bidding Process”) obtains a simple majority in the first ballot, both of the aforementioned bids are deemed to be rejected and the second phase of the Bidding Procedure shall be initiated (thus reopening the bidding process, excluding the four member associations that have already submitted a bid).
  • If none of the above three options obtains a simple majority, and the number of votes for the option “None of the Bids – Reopen Bidding Process” is equal to the number of votes for the aforementioned bids taken together, both of the bids shall be deemed to be rejected and the second phase of the Bidding Procedure shall be initiated. The proceedings relating to the agenda item of the 68th FIFA Congress on the designation of the host country of the 2026 FIFA World Cup shall be concluded.
  • If none of the options presented to the 68th FIFA Congress reaches a simple majority, and the number of votes for the aforementioned bids taken together is higher than the number of votes for the option “None of the Bids”, a second ballot shall be conducted. The question to be put to the 68th FIFA Congress in the context of the second ballot shall be: “Do you want to award the right to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ final competition to the bid submitted by the Moroccan Football Association or to the joint bid submitted by the CSA, FEMEXFUT and the USSF (“United Bid”)?”
  • A simple majority (more than 50%) of the valid votes cast is required for a decision to be taken in the second ballot.  If the second ballot should result in an equal number of votes for both bids, the bid that received the highest weighted average score in the technical evaluation report shall prevail.