Who's Backing Whom to Be the Host in 2026

FIFA will hold a vote Wednesday in Moscow to pick the host for the 2026 World Cup. It is the first such decision in eight years, and world soccer’s governing body surely hopes it goes better than the last one. That vote, in 2010, sent this year’s tournament to Russia and the 2022 event to Qatar, but also produced widespread accusations of bribery and vote trading and, eventually, a sprawling criminal investigation.

This year’s vote has only two candidates: a joint entry from the United States, Mexico and Canada (called the United Bid); and Morocco. The North Americans have been strong favorites since the start, and FIFA’s technical evaluations recently confirmed their front-runner status: The United Bid was rated higher than Morocco in every category but one in a report that noted, “The amount of new infrastructure required for the Morocco 2026 bid to become reality cannot be overstated.”