Overview
- The Kennedy Center ceremony begins at noon ET, with Heidi Klum, Kevin Hart and Danny Ramirez hosting, Rio Ferdinand conducting the draw, and performances by Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger and the Village People.
- President Donald Trump is expected to play a prominent role and is widely reported as the likely first recipient of FIFA’s new Peace Prize to be presented during the event.
- A revised seeding system keeps the four highest-ranked teams—Spain, Argentina, France and England—on separate paths until the semifinals provided they top their groups.
- Co-hosts Mexico, Canada and the United States were pre-assigned to Groups A, B and D; the opener is slated for Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca and the final for New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.
- After initially protesting U.S. visa refusals, Iran says it will send representatives, and U.S. officials are promoting a “FIFA PASS” process to expedite some fan visa appointments.