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FRIDAY | DEC 5, 2025

Malaysian Paper

Countdown begins Trump, Infantino bromance in spotlight ahead of World Cup draw

T HE countdown to the first 48-team World Cup begins in earnest early Monday morning (1am Malaysian time) 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. Monday’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 devel oped 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 cere mony, “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 AHEAD of the 2026 World Cup draw, AFP Sport runs the rule over the leading contenders at the first-ever 48-team finals to take place across North America next June and July (cur rent world ranking in brackets) : SPAIN (1): The European champions have not lost since their sparkling triumph at Euro 2024. Luis de la Fuente’s team are a perfectly oiled machine in which the standout player is teenage superstar Lamine Yamal. They also boast fearsome qual ity in midfield, with 2024 Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, Fabian Ruiz and Martin Zubimendi as well as Arsenal’s Mikel Merino, scorer of eight goals for his country in 10 games in 2025. The 2010 world champions only lost June’s Nations League final to Portugal on pen alties before cruising through World Cup qualifying unbeaten. ARGENTINA (2): Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina are dreaming of retaining the title they won in Qatar in 2022. That was their third World Cup triumph. That tournament marked Lionel Messi’s crowning glory, but it is hard to see how he can hit the same heights again given he turns 39

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. 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 representa tives, 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

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 super model Heidi Klum and American actor and comedian Kevin Hart, and will feature perform ances 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 help ing to conduct the draw. Trump has made the World Cup a center piece 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

first pot of seeds. The decision to expand the tournament has also cleared the way for several first-time quali fiers, including Cape Verde, Jordan and Curacao. But it is not to everyone’s liking – “The mon ster 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 semifinals, 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. Because of the complexity, teams will only learn the full details of their match venues and kickoff times a day after the draw. – AFP pinning their hopes on Neymar, they must now look elsewhere for inspiration. PORTUGAL (6): Portugal have never gone beyond the semifinals. They are serious candi dates this time, as long as they are not held back by the possibly overbearing presence of Cristiano Ronaldo. He is set to still be there, spearheading their attack aged 41, although the quality of their mid field – Vitinha, Joao Neves, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes – could be the key.

How are the World Cup favourites shaping up?

Kylian Mbappe’s form and the options around him, such as Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele and Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise. ENGLAND (4): After several near misses under Gareth Southgate, with agonising defeats in the finals of the last two Euros and exits from the 2018 World Cup

BRAZIL (5): It is still the case that no country symbolises the World Cup quite like Brazil,

and their progress under new coach Carlo Ancelotti will be fascinating to watch. That the Selecao felt it nec essary to turn to an Italian says

much about Brazil’s ongo ing footballing identity crisis. Since winning their fifth title in 2002,

in the semifinals and in the 2022 quarters, England turned to Thomas Tuchel hoping the German can deliver a first title since 1966. England claimed eight wins from eight without conceding a goal in qualifiers. They will hope Harry Kane can maintain his remark able current form.

they have lost in the quarterfinals four times and suffered the humiliation of losing 7-1 to Germany as hosts in the 2014 semis. After a dec ade of

GERMANY (9): Julian Nagelsmann’s side sit behind the Netherlands and Belgium in the world rankings and it seems a stretch to suggest Germany could win a first World Cup since 2014. They have since suf fered humbling group-stage exits in 2018 and 2022, and lost in the E u r o 2024

during the tournament. Beyond Messi they boast a wealth of attack ing talent, including Lautaro Martinez and Julian Alvarez. FRANCE (3): Les Bleus have won the World Cup twice and lost two finals on penalties in the last seven editions. They will be determined to make a big impact again in their last tourna ment before long-serving coach Didier Deschamps steps down. Their attacking issues appear to be firmly a thing of the past given captain

quar terfinals as hosts. Yet the class of Joshua Kimmich and Florian Wirtz, and the

emergence of a unique striking talent in Nick Woltemade, ensure Germany should be taken seriously. AFP

FROM LEFT: Ronaldo, Kane and Messi.

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