ESPN’s Sam Borden says the United States is expected to make the grade as the host for the 2026 World Cup.
Borden says that South America is focused on 2030, leaving only Africa -- specifically Morocco -- as a confederation weighing a bid on 2026.
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Regardless of that, the politics of the situation lean toward the United States.
Barring a last-minute change -- which, with global sporting politics, can never be entirely ruled out -- support for the bid’s proposal to fast-track the awarding of the World Cup rights appears broad. A victory would bring the world’s biggest sporting event back to the United States for the first time since 1994.
The vote is Thursday, and the United States would have to prove its worthiness by June 2018. If the U.S. is not approved Thursday, Borden writes, a more traditional vote will be held.