U.S. President Donald Trump still hasn’t graced the World Cup with his presence—although he will be in town for the important duty of handing out (if not letting go of) the trophy at the final.
There have admittedly been other matters drawing his attention, be that global conflicts or a UFC event in his back yard, but the World Cup has managed to thrum along without Trump surprisingly smoothly. Even the first weather-enforced hiatus couldn’t dampen a tournament where the star names on the pitch have emphatically shown up.
In the absence of the President, the world stage has been taken up by soccer royalty, actual royalty and a duck on the way to an even loftier status.
Merlin the Duck
It really depends on your levels of cynicism when judging the story of Merlin the duck’s trip to meet Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. For many, this green-fabric-clad unofficial mascot for the co-host has become such a viral sensation, touching the hearts of millions with his replica top and nifty draw-string shoes, that he warranted such recognition.
“Today we brought the family that has Merlin the duck as their pet, because he has been a symbol of the World Cup, a symbol of what Mexican families stand for, of who we are as Mexican families, and that is above all else, it is what the world is seeing from Mexico today,” Sheinbaum proudly declared.
Those with a more skeptical outlook on the world may point to this as a PR exercise for a President who has taken the controversial step of skipping every World Cup match.
Eloy Finds Room for Royal Celebrations
Royal Celebration with the King and Queen 💙@koninklijkhuis pic.twitter.com/PLLrVoek80
— Curaçao National Football Team (@TheBlueWaveFFK) June 21, 2026
Less than six months ago, Eloy Room was training on his own to stay sharp while looking for a professional club. On Saturday, Curaçao’s 37-year-old goalkeeper celebrated a record-equalling shot-stopping performance by dancing around the dressing room with the King and Queen of the Netherlands (which still technically counts Curaçao as part of its Kingdom).
“I think in 40 years, I’ll still remember,” Room understandably predicted.
Leo Ostigard Phones in Birthing Day
Daddy cool🥹 Gratulerer til Leo og Aurora som nybakte foreldre❤️ pic.twitter.com/Ir5BMQjO3z
— Fotballandslaget (@nff_landslag) June 20, 2026
Jérémy Doku’s public decision to leave Belgium’s camp to witness the birth of his first child drew a bizarre amount of opprobrium. The fleet-footed forward followed through on his promise to see Praise come into the world, but that isn’t an option all expecting fathers have taken this summer.
Norway center back Leo Østigård took the remote approach, watching his partner, Aurora Eidmann, go through labor on FaceTime. “I’m completely exhausted myself,” he told the national team’s in-house media channel. Hopefully Eidmann wasn’t watching that particular opinion.
Mauricio Pochettino’s Imagined Spies
Pablo Iglesias Maurer of The Guardian captured Mauricio Pochettino stood away from his U.S. players at the team’s training ground, ignoring Christian Pulisic’s return to action to instead focus on spinning his phone camera around the landscape in front of him. Rather than capturing a shaky panoramic of Irvine, Calif., the Argentine coach had bought into the prevailing paranoia of the club season.
“I wanted to see, because you know, we’re in an era of, how you say: spy,” he explained.
As a great lover of English soccer, Pochettino was no doubt all over the Spygate scandal which dogged the race for promotion to the Premier League. Southampton were so keen to get a win against Oxford United they sent an intern with an iPhone to the training ground. Amid the raised stakes of World Cup play, who knows what was hiding from Pochettino in the bushes?
On the England Roster With No Cleats
When Trevoh Chalobah returned from a shopping trip in Times Square to his hotel room, he found a text from England manager Thomas Tuchel. “I knew straight away,” he recalled.
The Chelsea center back was on the cusp of making the World Cup roster before narrowly missing out on the final 26. Yet, when Tino Livramento was ruled out of the tournament through injury, Chalobah got his shot. Unfortunately, the 26-year-old was on vacation and had not taken any cleats with him to the U.S. A mad scramble rectified that shortage and within a matter of days Chalobah was on the bench for England’s clash with Ghana. Hopefully he didn’t dwell on how much more interesting Times Square may have been.
Messi Mania Spreads From Dallas to Dhaka
Crazy 🇦🇷 Argentina fans watch party at Feni, Bangladesh 🇧🇩 pic.twitter.com/HqjMm7Lx3W
— Md. Osman Gani ✍️⚽ (@OsmanGani89) June 20, 2026
“Dhaka will burn if Maradona is not allowed to play,” hundreds of fans in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, chanted when the legendary playmaker was banned from the 1994 World Cup for doping. Thirty-two years later, another left-footed Argentine No. 10 dancing around the U.S. has captured the imagination of south east Asia.
As was the case at the 2022 World Cup, Lionel Messi has singlehandedly inspired feverish support from millions in Bangladesh, whose cities effectively turn into pockets of Argentina whenever the competition’s record scorer is in action, with enormous watch parties forming across the country.
“What the national team shirt transmits is crazy,” Lionel Scaloni has said of the phenomenon. “It makes us proud that the people in Bangladesh are supporting Argentina like this.”
Spelling Is Hard
“Football is a game of mistakes,” Pep Guardiola once said. That is true for events on and off the pitch, as New Zealand unfortunately found out.
The pennant which the All Whites presented to Egypt before their group stage clash in Vancouver was mistakenly addressed to “Eygpt.” The federation did not notice the mistake until long after the match, only belatedly removing the social media post with a picture of the misspelled pennant.
Jordan’s Spectacular World Cup Watchalong
وسط اجواء وطنية احتفالية وحماسية .. الجماهير الأردنية تتوافد الى المدرج الروماني وسط العاصمة عمان لحضور لقاء النشامى مع شقيقه الجزائري ضمن مباريات كأس العالم 2026.#بترا #الأردن #معك_يالنشمي pic.twitter.com/rWH3rB7uqK
— Jordan News Agency (@Petranews) June 23, 2026
On the eve of the Jordan’s first ever World Cup, Prime Minister Jafar Hassan launched an official government decree shifting the start of the working day back from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. so that fans could watch the action unfold before clocking in.
These public sector employees didn’t simply take advantage of a lie-in. Thousands descended upon Amman’s Roman Theatre to see Jordan kick off against Algeria at 6 a.m. local time. There were no yawns in a crowd which erupted at the sight of Nizar Al Rashdan’s opening goal. Unfortunately, much like the fans, the players tired in the second half, but few were too disappointed with a slender 2–1 defeat.
Tartan Army Already Missed in Boston
⚾️ The Tartan Army at the baseball last night
— Ewen Cameron (@EwenDCameron) June 23, 2026
Wait for it …….😂😂😂😂#TartanArmy #Scotland pic.twitter.com/uxZfkJxU1o
Scotland’s fans made the trek across from Boston to prepare to watch Steve Clarke’s side take on Brazil in Miami this week. Many Floridians gleefully welcomed the Tartan Army, who descended upon Miami Marlins vs. Texas Rangers on Tuesday as a warmup. One local baseball fan arrived with a poster which read: “Looking for a Scot.” She soon found one on her lips.
However, those back in Boston haven’t given up their love affair with Scotland fans. The Boston Globe is reaching out to the many members of its readership who made a “love connection” with a sozzled soccer fan in a kilt. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is so keen to keep the connection between Massachusetts and Scotland alive he has proposed bringing the NFL across the Atlantic.
