Former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand found himself in a diplomatically awkward position during the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington DC, directing a pointed message at former United States President Donald Trump.
An Awkward Exchange on the Global Stage
The event on Friday evening, which saw Trump awarded the inaugural FIFA peace prize, took a light-hearted yet pointed turn when Ferdinand took to the stage as the draw host. After Trump addressed the audience, expressing his honour at receiving the award and musing on the name 'football', Ferdinand seized the moment.
With a smile but clear intent, Ferdinand said: "With your permission, Mr President, we've gotta stop calling it soccer! I'm sorry. Where I'm from it's football and most of the people in this building right now, we call it football. If that's okay we're going to continue like that, yeah?"
Trump's 'Football' Comments Spark Reaction
Ferdinand's intervention came directly after Trump's own speech, where the 65th and 67th President of the United States quipped about the sporting nomenclature. Trump suggested America should find a new name for the NFL, stating, "this is football, there is no question, but we have to come up with another name for the other one."
He highlighted the linguistic conflict, noting: "When you look at what has happened to football ... soccer in the United States. We seem to never call it that because we have another conflict with another thing that's called football."
England's World Cup Group Revealed
Following the memorable exchange, the World Cup draw proceeded with England placed into Group L. The Three Lions will face Croatia, Ghana, and Panama in the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
In a poignant twist of fate, Thomas Tuchel's England side will open their campaign against Croatia, the nation that defeated them in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The exact venue for that opening match will be decided in a separate draw on Saturday, with Dallas or Toronto the two possible locations.
The event, fronted by the 81-cap former England international, successfully set the stage for the expanded 2026 tournament, albeit with a moment of cultural sporting debate that captured global attention.
