The World Cup 2026 is upon us, with the opening match kicking off in Mexico City this evening – after Fifa president Gianni Infantino gave his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday.
Four years ago, Infantino made infamous comments ahead of Qatar 2022, saying: “Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel [like] a migrant worker.” This time, he addressed the sorry saga of a Somali referee denied a visa to enter the US, with the Trump administration claiming Omar Artan was sent home because of links to “suspected members of terror organisations”.
The Fifa boss’s response to the problems proved bizarre, as Infantino urged everyone to “chill, relax”.
Meanwhile, England coasted to a 3-0 win over Costa Rica in their final World Cup warm-up game, after a storm delayed kick-off by an hour in Orlando. Once the game got under way, Declan Rice, Anthony Gordon and Ollie Watkins netted for Thomas Tuchel’s side, while Bukayo Saka came off the bench despite injury fears.
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Mexico play host to South Africa in a repeat of the 2010 opener in Johannesburg, only with the role of home nation flipped.
That game gave us one of the all-time World Cup moments – “TSHABALALAAAAAA!!!” – so let’s hope after last night’s disastrous Gianni Infantino press conference, we can get things off on a right note.
