WASHINGTON, D.C. — It began with Andrea Bocelli’s Nessun Dorma and Kevin Hart’s corny jokes, and ended — mercifully, tardily — with Donald Trump’s adopted anthem. In between, Wayne Gretzky mispronounced Macedonia and Curaçao (“Ka-rock-o”), former England men’s international soccer player Rio Ferdinand got a lecture from schoolchildren, and Lauryn Hill lit up the Kennedy Center.
People gathered in 16 North American cities and in front of millions of TVs to watch it, whatever “it” was.
It was supposed to be the 2026 World Cup draw. Instead, it was… well, where to start?
It opened with Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino sitting side by side in a Concert Hall balcony, pictured as if on a romantic date. And then, for two hours and 15 minutes, the world marveled, in awe and disgust and bemusement, at their awkward love child.
President @realDonaldTrump and Gianni Infantino watch the incredible performance by Andrea Bocelli pic.twitter.com/CKZzPSTtbI
— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) December 5, 2025
Millions of viewers, from Australia to Algeria, from Portugal to Panama, watched Infantino lead nationalistic chants and award a “Peace Prize” — one that has zero connection to the sport he governs — to Trump.
And they watched Shaquille O’Neal joke: “You know what they call me in the soccer world? David Black-ham.”
They watched Infantino take an onstage selfie with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Trump — a quite remarkable setting for the first in-person meeting between Trump and Sheinbaum.
Gianni Infantino takes a selfie with U.S. President Donald Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)
Then they watched German model Heidi Klum set the stage for a colossal soccer tournament.
They watched a succession of bits about the various names for this beautiful sport — “soccer” or “football”? — and Trump suggesting “we have to come up with another name for the NFL.” Then, finally, after more than one hour and 26 minutes, they watched Shaq, Tom Brady, Aaron Judge (millions around the world: “Who?”) and Gretzky pick World Cup ball-patterned orbs out of pots to give the tournament liftoff.
They watched a show that was both wonderfully multicultural and also, as Canada’s American head coach Jesse Marsch said afterward, “very American. Very American.”
There were Marines on stage as Trump received a golden medal, and a certificate, and a golden trophy that… uh… what, exactly, was this new “Peace Prize”?
The world then inched to the edge of sofas and seats, either in excitement or dread, as Trump brought a microphone toward his mouth. And perhaps the most surprising part of a head-spinning afternoon was that Trump, a renowned showman, was relatively understated.
He walked slowly onto the stage, a bandage on the back of his right hand, and did not actively steal the show. It had been handed to him, but he spoke for only two minutes and five seconds (compared to Infantino’s three minutes and 40).
He appeared humbled by the award. “This is truly one of the great honors of my life,” he said.
President Donald Trump receives the FIFA Peace Prize (Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images)
Perhaps that was his way of trying to validate an award that, at the start of last month, did not exist.
He ceded the floor to Lionel Scaloni, the World Cup-winning coach of Argentina. Throughout the show, there were also bland interviews with a who’s who of soccer legends in the audience. The Concert Hall floor was also filled with soccer executives, mostly men in suits who had probably never heard a line of hip-hop in their life.
And then there was Hill, bringing spirit to the stage, asking the suits: “Can we get some energy out of ya please?”
She paid tribute to the late Bob Marley. Then, the program cut to… Carli Lloyd. The camera panned to U.S. men’s national team coach Mauricio Pochettino. The show was a wild, whiplash-inducing clash of entertainment and serious sport and cringy skits. Rather than just explain the draw, FIFA enlisted Ferdinand and British kids to act out a “draw conductor bootcamp.”
There were, eventually, 12 groups of four teams drawn. But by 2 p.m. ET, could anyone really process them?
By around 2:15, minds were boggled. Perhaps even the Village People were confused as the instrumentals for their classic “Y.M.C.A.” song started and — hang on, where were they?
They eventually appeared, and gave Trump the closing act he wanted. The U.S. president, back in his balcony seat, smiled as they danced. Sheinbaum did too. Then Trump got up to his feet and danced with them. Two seats to his left, Infantino stood and smiled too, arms crossed, with Robert Kraft just over his shoulder. Two seats to Trump’s right, Carney peered up at him, and who the heck knows what was going through his — or any soccer fan’s — head?
“It was,” Marsch said afterward, “some serious pomp and circumstance.”
And it was a taste of what’s to come next summer, when the tournament kicks off. The 2026 World Cup will bring a global sport to America and an Americanized version of it to the world. It will rankle purists, and perhaps it will capture the attention of casual Americans, the type who typically only interact with baseball, basketball or their football.
The only guarantee, now more so than ever before, is that it will be big, and it will be brash, and it will be downright bizarre.
