Soccer Watch

The FIFA membership voted in Moscow on Wednes­day to accept a joint bid by the USA, Canada, and Mexico to host the 2026 World Cup. The vote had been expected to be close, as a technically inferior bid from Morocco seemed to have a lot of support amid an anti-U.S. backlash, but in the end, the United 2026 bid won easily, 134-65, sweeping every continent but Africa by at least a 3-1 margin. See more details online.

And as painful as the next month of World Cup is going to be for U.S. fans, we at least got a good send-off, as one of the youngest squads the national team has ever fielded held their own in a final pre-tourney game against highly fancied France, leading for nearly 40 minutes before settling for a 1-1 draw.

Meanwhile, the first ATX Coed World Cup is ongoing, with 36 teams of all levels currently midway through their group stage, and knockout rounds set to begin June 30. Read all about it at www.acsasoccer.org.