At least three teams from Group C — Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland — and Group I — France, Senegal, Norway, and a European team to be determined by March — are guaranteed to play in Foxborough.
It remains unclear which two from Group L — England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama — will play in that group’s one Foxborough game.
Brian Bilello, Boston 2026 Committee Board Chair and New England Revolution president, looked and sounded pleased with all possibilities after leaving the theater.
“Theres a top team in each of those groups, and with Scotland, Norway and Ghana, you’ve got three amazing fan groups as well,” said Bilello. “Every country travels well for a World Cup, but to be frank, some travel a lot better than others. We were hoping for a mix of countries that travel well and we certainly got that, and also countries that have great populations of in Massachusetts, like Brazil and Haiti.”
Bilello said he was “cautiously optimistic” that both Brazil and Haiti would play at least one game at Gillette, which will be re-named Boston Stadium for the tournament.
“We could have some special players — [France’s Kylian] Mbappe, [Brazil’s] Vinicius Junior, [Norway’s Erling] Haaland — go down the list, there’s some quality players across those teams,” he said.
The first-ever 48-team finals will feature 12 groups of four prior to a 32-team knockout stage.Jess Rapfogel/GettyBoston will also host a Round of 32 game featuring a third-place team against the winner of Group E, which is led by Germany, as well as a quarterfinal game.
The 14th-ranked United States received a largely favorable draw, lining up with Australia (No. 26), Paraguay (No. 39), and a European qualifier from among Turkey (25), Slovakia (45), Romania (47), and Kosovo (80). Its Group D will play on the West Coast, primarily at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and Levi’s Stadium outside San Francisco.
There was no topping the day’s displays of statecraft and stagecraft more than when FIFA president Gianni Infantino presented the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize to President Trump. A laudatory video highlighted Trump’s efforts around the world, and the
President listened intently and beamed on the stage while Infantino heaped praise on him for “his exceptional and extraordinary actions to promote peace and unity around the world.”
The FIFA chief did not bring up recent allegations that the Trump administration has committed war crimes with its boat strikes in the Caribbean or the President’s recent labeling of Somali immigrants in the US as “garbage” as examples of peace and unity.
“This is truly one of the great honors of my life,” said Trump, whose relatively brief acceptance speech mentioned gangbuster World Cup ticket sales.
“The world is a safer place now — the United States, one year ago, was not doing too well, and now I have to say we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world and we’re going to keep it that way,” he said.
The creation of FIFA’s Peace Prize was announced not long after word leaked out of Trump’s disappointment over not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.
Backed by an octet of violinists, tenor Andrea Bocelli began the noon draw with a stirring rendition of “Nessun Dorma.”
The title of the operatic classic roughly translates to “none shall sleep,” which held true given the sheer unpredictability of how the next 90 minutes played out before the draw actually took place.
Co-hosts Heidi Klum and Kevin Hart smiled through their forced banter between musical acts and the estimable FIFA self-hype machine. Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger performed a song called “Desire” that will become a theme for the tournament, before Lauryn Hill performed a refreshing and energetic set.
In a setting strikingly reminiscent of Ken Jennings introducing “Jeopardy” contestants, Infantino brought Trump, Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum, and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney on stage to have them talk about how excited they were for their countries to host the tournament. Each drew balls to confirm their nations’ already known group placements.
In his remarks, Trump spoke of Brazilian legend Pelé, who he said, “I assume [was] one of the greats.”
President Trump danced to The Village People as Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum, and First Lady Melania took in the draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington.Jacquelyn Martin/Associated PressTom Brady drew country names from Pot 1, Shaquille O’Neal from Pot 2, Aaron Judge from Pot 3, and Wayne Gretzky from Pot 4. When O’Neal was introduced, he briefly and playfully loomed over the diminutive Hart, then said, “Call me David ‘Black’-ham.”
Gretzky mispronounced Pot 4 countries “North Mack-adonia” for North Macedonia, “Jor-Dan” for Jordan, and “Cure-rocko” for Curacao.
The Village People, replete in hard hats and chaps, closed out a show about next year’s tournament with their 1978 hit “YMCA.” Trump, a longtime fan, was seen moving his arms to the beat from his Kennedy Center seat, with Patriots owner Robert Kraft nearby.
Michael Silverman can be reached at michael.silverman@globe.com.