A Host of
The contrast could not be more dramatic. The month 
of December in 2022 offered its usual fare of biting 
wintry weather and long hours of darkness outside, 
but inside, on sofas in cosy living rooms across 
the country, many brightened by early Christmas 
decorations, it seemed that the festive season had 
come early. Night after night, glued to our tv sets, with 
steaming cups of tea and packets of chocolate hob 
nobs at the ready, the nation watched with growing 
excitement as England mounted its campaign in the 
World Cup from the desert. Having reached the top 
of Group B and now entering the final stages of the 
competition, we were beginning to believe that this 
could be England’s time. After nearly sixty years of 
hurt, we hoped that maybe, just maybe, football was 
coming home from Qatar. Those hopes were dashed 
however on 10th December when the national team 
encountered France at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, 
when England skipper Harry Kane sliced a penalty and 
missed an opportunity to equalise, followed by Marcus 
Rashford missing a free kick in the one hundredth 
minute of the game. In a moment everyone realised 
that the wait would continue.
Four years later, in the middle of 2026, the World 
Cup has now returned to its traditional summer 
schedule, and not for the first time has crossed the 
Atlantic Ocean to the North American continent. Three 
countries will play host to the competition; Mexico, the 
United States, and Canada, offering contrasting and 
dramatic stages, from the Arctic Circle to the Tropic 
of Cancer, for the greatest football tournament on the 
planet. This team approach amongst neighbouring 
countries organising the World Cup is a continuing 
development in FIFA’s planning, offering countries 
that might struggle to be sole host the opportunity 
to join a partnership of nations. In 2030 another new 
development will see the World 
Cup go transcontinental, as teams play matches 
in Portugal, Spain and Morocco, criss-crossing the 
Straits of Gibraltar between Africa and Europe.
2026 marks a number of anniversaries for the England 
team, as it will be sixty years since this country 
welcomed nations from around the world to compete 
for the Jules Rimet Trophy, with legendary skipper 
Bobby Moore leading his men to beat West Germany 
4 – 2, on 30th July 1966 at Wembley Stadium. Thirty 
years later England hosted the Euros in 1996, losing 
on penalties to Germany in an edge of your seat 
semi-final. Thirty years later, at the time of publication, 
England has hopefully emerged top of Group L and 
is progressing through the later stages. We will be 
holding our breaths again, this time all the way to the 
final in New York on 19th July 2026. Only time will tell. 
The familiar strains of Skinner and Baddiel and the 
Lightning Seeds can already be heard, from Land’s 
End to Berwick Upon Tweed, across the nation. 
Altogether now...
Three lions on a shirt 
Jules Rimet still gleaming! 
Sixty years of hurt 
Never stopped us dreaming!
Come on England!
NATIONS
WORLD CUP 2026
5

View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.