Overview

2026 FIFA World Cup Canada, Mexico & United States is the 23rd international men's football tournament organized by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), which took place in the co-hosting countries Canada, Mexico and the United States. The 2026 tournament was the first World Cup to have three hosts and with 48 teams competing, up from the previous 32 teams. The Competition began on June 11th, 2026, and ended on July 19th, 2026.

Throughout the international men's soccer championship, numerous controversies, viral moments and memes spread online, sparking widespread media coverage and discourse on social media. Some of the biggest memes and viral phenomena to come from the 2026 WC include the Essie World Cup Curse, Lionel Messi and Gianni Infantino memes and Erling Haaland Running, among others.

Background

On June 13th, 2018, Canada, Mexico and the United States were chosen as the hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, following the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Morocco received the second most votes.^[1]

That same day, the FRANCE 24 English YouTube^[2] channel uploaded a video of FIFA President Gianni Infantino making the announcement of the winning bid, garnering over 348,500 views, 3,300 likes and 330 comments in eight years.

Qualifications

The qualifications for the 2026 FIFA World Cup began on September 7th, 2023, and ended on March 31st, 2026. With 206 teams participating, only 48 teams ultimately entered the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The 48 teams included: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Cape Verde, Colombia, Croatia, Curaçao, Czechia, DR Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Senegal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan.

Developments

Opening Ceremony

On June 11th, 2026, the opening ceremony took place at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, with the performance of the official World Cup song "Dai Dai" by Colombian pop artist Shakira and Nigerian singer Burna Boy. After the introductions, the first match took place between Mexico and South Africa, with Mexico winning.^[3]

Group Stage

The group stage of the tournament took place between June 11th and June 27th, 2026. The group stage was divided into 12 groups, and by the end, 16 teams were eliminated, and the rest of the teams passed into the knockout stage.

Controversies

The 2026 FIFA World Cup was mired by several controversies related to politics, logistics, security and human rights. Major issues included the U.S.' immigration and visa policies under the second Trump administration affecting teams and supporters,^[5] Iran's participation amid the 2026 Iran war,^[6] security concerns over drug cartel violence in Mexico^[7] and criticism of FIFA's implementation of dynamic ticket pricing.^[8]

Hydration breaks

Cooling breaks, first introduced at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, were expanded for the 2026 tournament as mandatory three-minute hydration breaks in each half of every match. The pauses also allowed broadcasters to air commercials during match play.^[4]

Related Memes

Hatsune Miku World Cup Custody Battle

Hatsune Miku World Cup Custody Battle, also known as Hatsune Miku World Cup Parental Custody Game, is a social game, meme and fan art trend that emerged during the 2026 FIFA World Cup in which social media users jokingly treat tournament matches as battles for the "custody" of the Japanese virtual singer Hatsune Miku.

The joke proposes that whichever national team defeats the previous holder earns temporary "custody" of the Vocaloid character, inspiring artists to redesign Miku in the country's colors, clothing and cultural motifs until that team is eliminated. The trend spread primarily on X / Twitter during the knockout stage of the tournament, with each successive victory prompting a new wave of nationally themed Hatsune Miku illustrations, memes and edits.

Essie World Cup Curse

Essie World Cup Curse, also known as 2026 FIFA World Cup VTuber Curse, refers to a series of memes and a humorous conspiracy theory centered on independent VTuber Essie (@essie_ch) that took place in July 2026 during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The joke asserts that any national team publicly supported by Essie is destined to lose, regardless of its chances of winning.

The running gag emerged during the tournament's knockout round of 16 after every team she endorsed in the bracket was eliminated in succession, leading fans to jokingly blame her for a string of unexpected defeats and upsets. The meme spread across X / Twitter, Reddit, Instagram and other social media platforms throughout the ending of the football (soccer) tournament, with users tracking Essie's predictions before matches and encouraging her to either support or avoid specific teams.

Mbappé Special

Mbappé Special is a slang term and series of memes based on a viral video of French footballer and soccer star Kylian Mbappe saying, during an interview, that the "Kylian Special" is "for example, nothing," when asked what he likes to cook.

The video of the interview was released by Vanity Fair in early July 2026 during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The clip of Mbappe saying the Mbappe Special is "nothing" inspired memes that use the term as slang to replace the word "nothing" over the following weeks as it spread online.

Lionel Messi and Gianni Infantino Memes

Lionel Messi and Gianni Infantino Memes, also known as Lionel Messi and FIFA President Meme, refer to a series of jokes and memes that portray Argentinian football (soccer) star Lionel Messi and FIFA President Gianni Infantino in a romantic relationship or extremely close friendship, usually with heavy exaggeration and absurdity. The memes are based on conspiracy theories that Infantino and FIFA are biased toward Messi and the Argentinian men's national team, rigging matches and tournaments in their favor to help them win.

The memes pairing the two largely began appearing online during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which Argentina won, and became more prominent on social media during the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the U.S.

Erling Haaland Majin Buu Comparisons

Erling Haaland Majin Buu Comparisons, also known as Erling Haaland Majin Buu Meme, refers to a series of jokes and memes revolving around Norwegian pro footballer and soccer player Erling Haaland and the widespread perception that he looks like the Dragon Ball Z character Majin Buu (specifically Super Buu).

The memes comparing Haaland and Buu first appeared in early 2021 when he played for the Bundesliga team Borussia Dortmund, spreading over the following years, especially garnering virality during the 2026 FIFA World Cup as his presence on social media exponentially grew. The memes are similar to the Mbappé Donatello meme, which similarly compares French football player Kylian Mbappé to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles character.

Erling Haaland Running

Erling Haaland Running, also known as Erling Haaland Chase or simply Haaland Running Meme, refers to an exploitable image macro meme depicting Norwegian pro footballer and soccer player Erling Haaland sprinting toward Iraqi player Zaid Tahseen during the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the U.S. The moment took place in mid-June 2026 while Norway was playing Iraq in the group stage, spreading online over the following days as people used screenshots of Haaland's running stance to create memes, depicting him as scary or intimidating.

World Cup, Everybody Jump

World Cup, Everybody Jump refers to the 2026 FIFA World Cup anthem "WORLD CUP" by TikToker and musician Tayo Ricci, which features the lyrics, "World Cup, everybody jump." Ricci released the song on June 5th, 2026, and promoted it on his Instagram and TikTok pages.

The song went viral and became the subject of memes and reactions in the following days. Many of the reactions to the song were critical, with some calling it the "worst World Cup song ever," inspiring jokes in which people refused to fulfill Ricci's request that "everybody jump." It also inspired Accuracy Reenactments, where users attempted to recreate the video of Ricci jumping to the song.

Search Interest

External References