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    North Macedonia

    Gretzky butchered the pronunciation of these countries during FIFA World Cup draw

    Hey, we all make mistakes.

    It’s just that most mistakes aren’t broadcast around the world.

    Unfortunately for Wayne Gretzky, his pronunciation flubs were heard globally on Friday.

    The Great One was tasked with revealing which countries would be playing in which group at the tail end of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Draw.

    Not only that, but he may have had the most challenging part.

    The Canadian hockey legend was the only celebrity on stage for the Pot 4 draw, which included reading three or four countries at a time for the remaining teams that had not yet qualified.

    Preceding draws had just one country per card.

    “I want to know how I got all the names,” Gretzky said early in the Pot 4 draw.

    Although it was unfortunate for Gretzky, it did lead to some hilarious moments.

    It started with his first draw, where one of the countries he had to say was North Macedonia.

    Easy enough to pronounce, right?

    “North Mackadonia,” Gretzky said after some hesitation.

    Is that a country or a nut that he was talking about?

    The struggles for Gretzky didn’t end there, as his pronunciation of Curaçao was arguably worse.

    He called the Caribbean island nation “Curacko.”

    There was also the odd accent on his pronunciation of Jordan that drew some attention.

    In fairness, he did recover later in the draw, nailing the pronunciation of other countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Cabo Verde correctly.

    “I’ve been practicing this one all morning,” he said, as he pulled out Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo later in the draw.

    Unfortunately for Gretzky, the damage was done, and the internet won’t soon forget.

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