21JUL

Three World Cup co-hosts down to one

1 min read

09:35UTC

Mexico's exit left the United States as the last World Cup co-host standing, as Morocco, France, Norway and England filled four quarter-final places.

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Key takeaway

Mexico's exit leaves the United States as the last World Cup co-host in contention.

Mexico's elimination on Sunday left the United States as the last of the three World Cup co-hosts still in the tournament, a day after Morocco and France had filled two of the eight quarter-final places ¹. Four of those berths are now settled, with Norway and England joining them on Sunday.

The United States stages most of the 104 matches, with Mexico and Canada sharing the rest, in the first World Cup co-hosted by three nations. Canada went out to Morocco on 4 July , the first host eliminated, and Mexico became the second. Morocco and France, drawn to meet on 9 July , and Norway and England now occupy half the last-eight bracket.

The United States play Belgium on Monday, with the reprieved Folarin Balogun available, in the tie that decides whether any host nation reaches the last eight. Portugal against Spain completes Monday's card, and Switzerland against Colombia and Argentina against Egypt close the round of 16 on Tuesday. Co-host attrition has outpaced the pre-tournament billing, and the draw is now filling around the three nations that built the event.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

The 2026 World Cup is jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, the first tournament ever shared between three countries. Canada was the first co-host eliminated, beaten by Morocco on 4 July, and Mexico followed a day later against England. That leaves the United States as the only host nation still in the competition. Four of the eight quarter-final places are now filled: Morocco, France, Norway and England. The United States play Belgium on 6 July hoping to keep the third co-host alive.

Deep Analysis

Root Causes

Canada and Mexico both drew knockout opponents, Morocco and England respectively, ranked above them in FIFA's world rankings. Their elimination reflects the standard variance of bracket seeding rather than any disadvantage specific to hosting the tournament.

The expanded 48-team format, used for the first time in 2026, added a round of 32 that did not exist in the 32-team era. That extra knockout round means more good teams eliminate each other earlier, raising the odds that any single co-host meets a stronger side before the quarter-finals rather than after.

Sources:Al Jazeera

Mentions:United States →Mexico →Canada →Morocco →France →Norway →England →Belgium →Portugal →Spain →Switzerland →Colombia →Argentina →Egypt →Folarin Balogun →World Cup →

First Reported In

Update #35 · England oust Mexico; Azteca held safe

Al Jazeera· 6 Jul 2026

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Causes and effects

Caused by

Morocco knock Canada out of home Cup

Morocco's win over Canada eliminated the first co-host and began setting the quarter-final bracket.

Occurred 4 Jul 2026

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Morocco meet France in 2022 rematch

The Morocco-France quarter-final draw fixed part of the bracket referenced in the co-host attrition summary.

Occurred 4 Jul 2026

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England oust Mexico to reach last eight

England's win over Mexico eliminated the second co-host and confirmed a quarter-final berth.

Occurred 6 Jul 2026

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Haaland double ends Brazil's World Cup

Norway's win over Brazil confirmed the fourth quarter-final berth in the same bracket update.

Occurred 5 Jul 2026

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This Event

Three World Cup co-hosts down to one

Only the United States can still give the tournament a home quarter-finalist, and they must beat Belgium on Monday to do it.

Led to

Belgium end USA's home World Cup

Mexico's exit two days earlier left the United States as the last co-host in contention before losing to Belgium.

Occurred 5 Jul 2026

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Different Perspectives

Sky Sports

Sky Sports put its own name on the tournament's first goal total, 308 across 104 matches, published 20 July because FIFA's technical report was not ready to. An independent tally from SoccerAnalytics.net reconciled to the same number, but the figure entering wider circulation carries a broadcaster's byline, not FIFA's.

Vancouver and Toronto

Hotel occupancy fell 20.9% in Vancouver and hit roughly CAD 380m in hosting costs for Toronto, even as match-day room rates spiked. Both cities' formal cost-benefit reconciliations are due in spring 2027, and neither has yet had to account publicly for a July that undersold itself.

Spain / Royal Spanish Football Federation

King Felipe VI received Spain's squad at the Palacio de la Zarzuela on 20 July, a ritual that proceeded as scheduled despite the disciplinary file opened the same afternoon. Rodri's Golden Ball closed the individual awards, which went almost entirely to Spain.

Argentine Football Association

The federation faces a fine in its own right, beyond player suspensions, because FIFA's prosecutor is reviewing assistant coach Roberto Ayala alongside Paredes and Molina. Any sanction lands on a coaching staff whose own future with president Claudio Tapia is not discussed until the 21 September window.

FIFA

FIFA appointed a Disciplinary and Ethics Prosecutor on 20 July to build one file spanning Leandro Paredes' red card, Roberto Ayala's alleged strike and Nahuel Molina's, rather than ruling case by case. No hearing date exists yet, and FIFA's own past tariffs range from a CHF 30,000 federation fine in 2014 to Luis Suarez's four-month ban.

FairSquare

FairSquare has referred Gianni Infantino to the International Olympic Committee's Ethics Commission over FIFA's political-neutrality rules, using the IOC's authority as a lever FIFA's own president-appointed Ethics Committee cannot provide against itself. Trump's on-podium presence at the final, with Infantino visibly moving him aside, becomes an exhibit for that complaint rather than an argument for it.