Donald Trump talks about the possibility of Russia's World Cup ban being lifted

The 2026 World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Yesterday (May 7), US President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino held the first meeting of the "2026 World Cup Task Force" to discuss the organization of the tournament.

US President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino held the first meeting of the "2026 World Cup Task Force" (Photo: Getty).

In it, Mr. Trump discussed with Mr. Infantino the possibility of lifting the World Cup ban on the Russian team. The US President believes that the Russian team's return to the world's number one football tournament could be the impetus to end the conflict in Ukraine.

Mr Trump insisted he did not know about the ban on the Russian team. He said: "I don't know about the ban. Is that correct?" FIFA President Gianni Infantino replied: "Yes. The Russian team is temporarily banned. We hope that something will happen, the conflict will end, the Russian team will be accepted to compete again."

"That could happen. That could be a good incentive to end the conflict, right?" the US president added.

To lift the ban on the Russian team, the approval of the UEFA Executive Committee (ExCo) is required. If 10/18 members agree (including the President of the Russian Football Union Aleksandr Dyukov), the Russian team will be allowed to return to European tournaments and proceed to receive the approval of FIFA.

The Russian team is still waiting for the opportunity to attend the World Cup (Photo: Getty).

The European qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup will begin in June. Up to 16 teams from the old continent will have tickets to participate in the tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico next year.

The last time Russia played an international match was a loss to Croatia in a 2022 World Cup qualifier in November 2021. Since then, the Bears have only played friendly matches. They have won 11 of 16 friendlies in the past nearly 4 years.

Remember, at the UEFA conference held in April, FIFA President Gianni Infantino admitted that he wanted the Russian team to return to major tournaments because "this means everything is resolved". That is also the view of UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/ong-donald-trump-noi-ve-kha-nang-tuyen-nga-duoc-go-lenh-cam-du-world-cup-20250508115401408.htm