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Wayne Gretzky’s World Cup Draw Mispronunciations Go Viral

He handled the tricky Pot 4 segment that required reading several team names at once, a format that can trip up presenters.

Overview

  • The NHL legend stumbled over names including North Macedonia, Curaçao, Jordan and Türkiye during Friday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup draw.
  • Gretzky was the only celebrity assigned to the Pot 4 portion, which involved reading three or four countries per card and playoff placeholders.
  • Clips of the flubs spread widely on X, where users shared videos and jokes reacting to the live segment.
  • Coverage noted he recovered later by correctly pronouncing countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Cabo Verde.
  • Commentators contrasted his effort with Aaron Judge, who was praised for pronouncing every country correctly during his portion.