USA Today columnist says United States has already ‘lost’ the World Cup because of politics, Donald Trump

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The 2026 FIFA World Cup is officially underway, with Canada, the United States, and Mexico jointly hosting the 48-team tournament.

As of Thursday afternoon, there’s been just one match completed, with the Mexican National Team dominating South Africa in a 2-0 win at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. There are 103 matches left to be completed, and the World Cup will head to some spectacular venues across the country.

But if you ask left-wing sports media columnists, the outcome has already been decided. And the loser of the tournament is … the United States. Of course.

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The US Men's National Team posing for a group photo in New York.

USA Todaycolumnist Nancy Armour this week published one of the more absurd takes on the World Cup and the country’s success in hosting the tournament. Arguing that no matter how well the U.S. Men’s National Team does in the event, we’ve revealed ourselves to be a “hateful and greedy nation.”

“The U.S. men’s national team could make a historically deep run and the tournament could be filled with wondrous goals and compelling games,” she writes. “It will not change the fact that we have shown ourselves to be a hateful and greedy nation, one where leaders are only willing to welcome a world as they want to see it rather than as it exists, and the love of the game is exploited for top dollar.”

Instead of representing ourselves well, we’ve chosen to be “ugly Americans,” she argues.

“That will be the legacy, and the shame, of this World Cup. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to showcase the best of the United States and embrace the joy that soccer brings the rest of the world and, instead, we chose to be ugly Americans.”

What makes Americans “ugly?” Well, Donald Trump, of course!

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U.S. President Donald Trump drawing a card at the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw event

Armour claims that the treatment of the Iranian National Team “has been shameful,” even though they are playing in the tournament, and defended the Somali referee Omar Artan who was denied entry to the country after being allegedly connected to terrorist groups. These are “dubious reasons,” she says. The U.S. is “supposed to be a World Cup host, not a World Cup bouncer,” she adds.

“We’re working very closely to make sure the right people come into our country,” President Trump said on Wednesday, which she angrily refers to. God forbid.

The other fatal flaw she brings up? Ticket prices. Except that the US government as a host country has quite literally nothing to do with ticket prices, which are set by FIFA. Many have lamented that the extremely high price points will exclude fans who can’t afford to pay them. And that’s a very reasonable and understandable complaint. But again, that’s on FIFA, not the host country.

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That’s the issue with Armour’s entire article. It’s not based on facts, it’s based on emotion and obvious hatred and disapproval for the country and its leadership. Would she have similar complaints if the Biden administration had kept someone with terrorist ties out of the country? Of course not. Though, obviously, the Biden administration would never have even pretended to care about the integrity of America’s borders.

United States fans passing through security checks at training venue in Irvine, California

Not to mention that the previous tournament in 2022 was hosted by Qatar, where migrant workers were exploited during stadium construction. To her credit, Armour did criticize Qatar’s government for their human rights record and other policies, but comparing the United States as hosts to Qatar is absurd at best, and offensively inaccurate at worst.

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She approvingly quotes New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who as an open-borders extremist, naturally criticized the Trump administration. Which gives the game away. Regardless of the Iranian National Team and a ref with allegedly dangerous connections, Armour would have written something similar. Because she doesn’t like Donald Trump.

The U.S. is going to be a fantastic World Cup host, to Armour’s great chagrin. Just don’t expect her to admit it afterward, that would require intellectual honesty.

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