All three World Cup co-hosts eliminated from tournament

The United States, Mexico and Canada, joint hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, have all been eliminated from the tournament following the United States’ 4-1 defeat to Belgium in the Round of 16 on Monday in Seattle.

The USA’s exit completed a disappointing campaign for the three co-hosts, who each reached the knockout stage on home soil but failed to progress to the quarter-finals.

Canada, Mexico bow out

Canada became the first co-host to exit the competition after suffering a 3-0 defeat to Morocco in the Round of 16 on Saturday, 4th July.

Morocco midfielder Azzedine Ounahi scored twice before Soufiane Rahimi added a late goal to seal the victory.

Canada’s campaign was also affected by injury concerns involving star winger Alphonso Davies.

Mexico followed on Sunday, losing 3-2 to England at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City before a crowd of more than 80,000 spectators.

England midfielder Jude Bellingham scored twice in 98 seconds during the first half, while captain Harry Kane converted a penalty after England had been reduced to 10 men.

The defeat ended Mexico’s hopes of reaching its first World Cup quarter-final since hosting the tournament in 1986.

Following the exit, Mexico head coach Javier Aguirre is expected to be replaced by his assistant, Rafael Márquez.

USA completes co-host exit

The United States became the final co-host to crash out after Belgium recorded a convincing 4-1 victory at Lumen Field in Seattle.

The match was preceded by controversy surrounding the reinstatement of a red card shown to United States forward Folarin Balogun, as well as comments made by US President Donald Trump.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the first edition to be jointly hosted by three countries and the first to feature an expanded 48-team format.

The tournament began on June 11 and is being staged across 16 cities—11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada—with the final scheduled for 19th July.

With the exits of the United States, Mexico and Canada, the quarter-final line-up now consists entirely of non-host nations, including Morocco, France, Norway, Spain, Belgium, England, Argentina and either Egypt, Switzerland or Colombia, with the remaining qualification spots yet to be decided.