Published On 7/7/2026
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Last update: 14:12 (Mecca time)
The curtain has fallen on the journey of the United States, Mexico and Canada, the three countries hosting the 2026 World Cup, after all of them exited the tournament in the round of sixteen, ending the North American continent’s hopes of continuing the journey on its stadiums and in front of its fans.
The fans were looking forward to one of the host teams achieving a historic achievement in the first edition of the World Cup, which was jointly organized by three countries, but the strong competition in the knockout rounds prevented any of them from continuing in the tournament, bringing the curtain down early on the dream of the hosts.
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The American team was the last host team to leave the tournament, after suffering a heavy loss to the Belgium team, 4-1, in the match held in Seattle in the round of 16.
With this result, the American team became the latest victim of what has become known as the “curse of the hosts,” which continues to haunt the host teams in the World Cup tournaments.
Before the United States left, the Canadian team was the first host team to leave the tournament, after losing to the Moroccan team 3-0 in the match held in Houston.
Only hours passed until the Mexican national team joined him, which exited the tournament after losing to the England national team 3-2 in a strong confrontation held in the capital, Mexico City, and its adventure in the tournament ended amid great disappointment for its fans.
Thus, the three host countries were eliminated from the same round, in an unprecedented scene for a tournament held jointly between three countries.
6 teams were crowned on their home soil
The exit of the United States, Mexico and Canada brought back to the forefront what is known as the complex or “curse” of the host teams, after the hosts failed once again to exploit the ground staff and the crowd in order to compete for the title.
The 2026 edition became the seventh in a row in which the host team was unable to win the World Cup, continuing a series that extended for nearly three decades.
6 teams were crowned on their home soil
The hosts have only succeeded in winning the World Cup six times throughout the tournament’s history. The beginning was with Uruguay, which won the title on home soil in the first edition in 1930, then Italy in 1934, and England, which won its only title on home soil in 1966, followed by West Germany in 1974, then Argentina, which lifted the cup among its fans in 1978, before France became the last team to achieve this achievement, after it won the title on home soil after defeating Brazil in the 1998 World Cup final.
Since then, several editions of the tournament have passed without any host team succeeding in repeating the achievement, despite the difference in the strength of the teams and the circumstances surrounding each edition.
The following editions witnessed the failure of all host teams to reach the podium, starting with South Korea and Japan in the 2002 edition, then Germany in 2006, South Africa in 2010, Brazil in 2014, Russia in 2018, and Qatar in 2022, before the United States, Mexico and Canada joined the list in the 2026 edition.
Thus, the series of failures continued for the home team, despite the great public support and the moral advantage that playing matches in local stadiums gives.
The tournament enters a new phase
With the exit of the three host teams, the 2026 World Cup will enter the quarter-final stage without the presence of any of the hosts, so the competition will shift entirely to the qualified teams that succeeded in passing the difficult tests in the knockout rounds.
Despite the disappointment that befell the fans of the United States, Mexico and Canada, the tournament continues its course amid strong competition between the most prominent international teams, waiting to know the identity of the team that will succeed in topping the podium, while the home team’s knot continues for the seventh edition in a row.
