Bromance With Trump May Have Helped Soccer Legend Cristiano Ronaldo Get Cleared To Play in 2026 World Cup
‘My son is a big fan of Ronaldo, and Barron got to meet him, and I think he respects his father a little bit more now that I’ve introduced you,’ Trump says.
Did Cristiano Ronaldo receive a presidential pardon?
FIFA changed its mind this week and cleared Mr. Ronaldo to play in Portugal’s opening matches of the 2026 World Cup. Mr. Ronaldo was facing a potential two-game suspension after being ejected from Portugal’s second-to-last World Cup qualifying match against Ireland on Nov. 13.
Mr. Ronaldo was given a red card for delivering an elbow to the back of Dara O’Shea. FIFA said at the time Mr. Ronaldo received his red card that he was suspended for three games. The soccer superstar sat out Portugal’s final qualifying match, an easy 9-1 win over Armenia on Nov. 16 to secure the country’s berth in the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America next summer.
FIFA changed its stance on Tuesday, announcing that Mr. Ronaldo would no longer have to serve the final two matches of the suspension. Instead, FIFA released a statement imposing a one-year probation period where Mr. Ronaldo must behave or face stiffer consequences.
“If Cristiano Ronald commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension set out in the disciplinary decision shall be deemed automatically revoked and the remaining two matches must be served immediately at the next official match(es) of the Portuguese representative team,” the statement read.
The ban is lifted just days before the Dec. 5 draw in Washington D.C. that determines the matchups for the tournament’s group stage.
Did President Trump put in a good word?
It’s no surprise FIFA brushed aside the suspension. Mr. Ronaldo will be 41 next summer and has said the 2026 World Cup will be the last of six appearances in his brilliant career. Keeping the sport’s most recognizable star out of the World Cup’s opening games was never in FIFA’s best interests.
The timing added intrigue. Perhaps President Trump put in a good word for Mr. Ronaldo who attended a White House dinner hosted by Mr. Trump on November 18. Mr. Ronaldo was recognized by Mr. Trump at the black-tie affair for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Mr. Ronaldo has played the past three years for Al-Nassr of the Saudi Pro League. He recently became the soccer’s first billionaire after recently renewing his contract said to be worth more than $400 million in tax-free earnings. He currently holds the record for most international goals at 143, despite never winning the World Cup.
“My son is a big fan of Ronaldo,” Mr. Trump said. “And Barron got to meet him, and I think he respects his father a little bit more now that I’ve introduced you.”
Mr. Ronaldo has praised Mr. Trump in the past. “He’s one of the guys who can help to change the world,” he said before they met. “I wish one day to meet him because he is one of the guys who can make things happen and I like people like that.”
With the United States, Mexico and Canada serving as the host countries for the World Cup, Mr. Trump has been an avid supporter and a bit of an antagonist. Mr. Trump has bolstered staffing at certain American embassies to handle the expected demand from those interested in attending the World Cup.
He also formed a strong alliance with FIFA president Gianni Infantino and signed an executive order to establish a federal task force to oversee safety preparations for the various World Cup venues in the United States.
But Mr. Trump has also used the World Cup for political leverage by threatening to move it from cities with Democratic mayors and crime problems. “If we think there’s going to be a sign of any trouble, I would ask (Mr. Infantino) to move that to a different city,” Mr. Trump warned earlier this month.
Suspending Mr. Ronaldo would not have been good for Mr. Trump’s mood and FIFA’s hopes of a glorious World Cup. Where Portugal plays its opening match in June will be revealed on Dec. 5 when the final draw takes place at noon eastern time at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C.
After a dramatic final week of qualifying, 42 nations will be represented. The remaining six of the 48 teams that will compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup have yet to be determined. Four will come from the 16-team UEFA playoffs involving Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Denmark, Italy, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, north Macedonia, Poland, Ireland, Romani, Slovakia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales.
The other two spots will be contested by six teams—Bolivia, Congo Dr., Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname.
Draw will determine Group pairings
The 2026 World Cup features 60 host cities. For the initial stage teams will compete in 12 groups of four teams with the top two of each group plus eight of best third place teams progressing to the next round.
The first-ever Round of 32 becomes a knockout stage. Teams that reach the final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. will have played eight games.
For the draw, teams are organized into four pots.
Pot 1: Canada, M Senegal, Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.
Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, IR Iran, Korea Republic, Ecuador Austria and Australia.
Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Cote d’Ivoire, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa.
Pot 4: Jordan, Cabo Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, four teams from the European playoff and two teams from the FIFA Play-off Tournament.
The draw begins with all teams from pot 1 being drawn into Groups A to L. It will continue to the pots 2, 3 and 4 in that order.
Teams will be grouped into regions to limit travel
All totaled there will be 104 matches across three countries. To aid travel, FIFA developed a schedule that geographically groups the host cities into regions. The Western Region consists of host cities, Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco Bay Area, and Los Angeles.
The Central Region consists of Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Houston, Dallas, and Kansas City. The Eastern Region consists of Atlanta, Miami, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia and New York/New Jersey.
Three days between matches will give players a chance to recover and fans to visit nearby World Cup venues.
The World Cup kicks off on June 11 with the first game at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, making it the first stadium to host three FIFA Cup opening matches. Toronto will host Canada’s first ever FIFA Cup match the following day along with the U.S. which makes its debut in Atlanta. All three hosts will play their group matches on home soil.
By July 14 only four teams will remain. Dallas and Atlanta will host the semifinals. The finale will be on July 19.
The storylines for the World Cup are stockpiling.
Curacao went unbeaten through Group B of Concacaf qualifying to earn its first ever trip to the World Cup. Curacao, the smallest country to ever qualify, totaled 15 points in beating Barbados, Aruba, Saint Lucia and Haiti in the second round, and defeating Jamaica and Bermuda in the third round. Other newcomers include Cape Verde (Africa), Jordan (Asia) and Uzbekistan (Asia).
Scotland is back in the World Cup after a 28-year absence. The Scots, who made their first appearance in 1954, were fixtures at the Cup between the 1970s and 1990s, but failed to qualify six successive times. The Scots finally advanced to the grand stage for the first time since 1998 with a 4-2 win over Denmark.
France will make its eighth consecutive trip to the World Cup, extending the dominance over the last three decades. Champions in 1998 and 2018, France enters its 17th FIFA World Cup looking to become only the second European nation to reach the finals three times in a row. France, a loser to Argentina in the 2022 finals at Qatar, went unbeaten through six qualifying matches. Iceland was the only team to manage a draw.
Brazil is making its 23rd appearance, the only team to have played in every World Cup. Germany is second with 21 and Argentina third at 19.
Italy is on the brink of another “apocalypse”
Italy has 18 World Cup appearances, but the four-time champion is in danger of not qualifying for the third consecutive time. After failing for Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022, Italy is on the brink of elimination after losing to Norway to finish second in their group play.
Italian journalist James Horncastle illustrated the dire state of Italy’s team this way. “It was called apocalyptic the first time they missed out in 2017. I don’t know what stage of apocalypse we are in now.”
Italy’s coach Gennaro Gattuso has complained FIFA should change the qualification process to allow group runners up to automatically qualify for the World Cup.
“It’s not a controversy, but there are difficulties,” he said.
Kennedy Center to host the soccer world
The Italians won’t be part of the 42 team draw on Dec. 5. The event will be broadcast around the globe. Ambassadors and embassy representatives around the world will be in attendance.
“The draw is a major tournament milestone and one that will continue the remarkable build-up to the biggest sporting event ever, as we get set for landmark FIFA events across North America throughout 2026, ” Mr. Infantino said. “We look forward to welcoming the team delegations, our partners, global media, and fans representing each of the 16 wonderful host cities to the capital of the United States for this significant occasion.”
Mr. Trump has not confirmed his attendance but likely will attend if his schedule permits after famously putting himself in the middle of the celebration of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
“The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest, most complex set of events in sports history, and the Kennedy Center will give it a phenomenal kickoff,” Mr. Trump said earlier this year.
