The bell for the final round has rung in the race for the 2026 World Cup. 5 weeks before the vote, scheduled for June 13 in Moscow, the two candidate teams are covering the miles to convince voters to give them their votes.

A delegation from Morocco, led by its general director, Hicham El Amrani, is traveling across Europe. She met last week in Copenhagen with representatives of the Danish, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian and Icelandic federations. According to Moroccan media, the operation would have been a success.

Opposite, the American trio made up of the United States, Canada and Mexico made an extended stopover in Asia. Carlos Cordeiro, the co-president of the bid committee, announced that he had presented the file to a dozen Asian federations during a meeting in Indonesia.

For the first time since the start of the campaign, the two camps will meet this Tuesday, May 8 in Brussels. The occasion: the annual congress of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS). Moroccans and Americans will face questions from an audience made up of 200 journalists from around a hundred countries, gathered for 4 days at the Plaza hotel.

On the American side, Donald Trump's recent tweets, ridiculously clumsy, seem like a poisoned chalice. Morocco could benefit from this. But, curiously, the African candidacy is going through a zone of heavy weather. She would lose votes in her own camp.

Monday May 7, South Africa violently slammed the door in its face. The South African Football Federation initially showed its support for the Moroccan issue. Its president, Danny Jordaan, announced on April 16 that the country would vote in favor of a candidacy presented like that of the entire continent. Then he reversed course.

On Monday, South African Sports Minister Tokozile Xasa hit the nail on the head. “ We are very clear that we cannot support Morocco, she said, quoted by the South African media Times LIVE. Our parliament has been very clear in this regard, it is the mandate of the country and it is an obligation for sports bodies to understand the agenda of the country. You cannot, just because you have experience in FIFA affairs, be in favor of a nation that goes against your own country's mandate. »

Due to the very tense diplomatic relations between Morocco and South Africa for several years, the Moroccan candidacy loses the support of the only African country to have already hosted the World Cup. Unfortunate.

Another hiccup: Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, two Islamic countries, have also turned their backs on Morocco. The Crown Prince of Bahrain received a delegation from the American bid committee in a private audience last Sunday at the royal palace of Al Manama. According to several local media, Prince Salman did not explicitly express his support for the United 2026 file, but he welcomed “ very close relationships » that Bahrain talks with the three countries, before wishing “ the success of their visit to Bahrain“. A formula behind which those familiar with the genre guess the promise of a vote in favor of the American trio at the next FIFA congress.

As for Saudi Arabia, it expressed its change of coat more directly. Interviewed by CNN, Turki Al-Sheikh, the president of the Saudi Football Federation, explained: “ We work for the interest of Saudi Arabia. We have not yet adopted a position, but Saudi Arabia's interests take precedence. The United States is one of our most powerful allies. And we are theirs in the Middle East. » A Trump effect? Maybe.