2026 FIFA World Cup opens across three host nations with mixed opening ceremonies and notable leader absences

Unbiased summary

The 2026 FIFA World Cup began across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. US President Donald Trump did not attend the USA opening match against Paraguay, which the US won 4-1. Canadian PM Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also skipped their nations' openers. Canada drew 1-1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto, where celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Mike Myers attended. Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 at Azteca Stadium. Opening ceremonies were held in each host city: Michael Bublé and Alanis Morissette performed in Toronto, while Katy Perry performed one song, 'Wonder', alongside 10-year-old Tius Luka in Los Angeles. Perry's partner, former Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, attended the USA-Paraguay game rather than Canada's opener. Fan reactions to the ceremonies were mixed.

Coverage by outlet

BBC News centre-left

Angle The BBC frames the story around the political significance of world leaders skipping their nations' opening matches, with a secondary focus on celebratory fan atmosphere.

Bias By treating Trump, Carney, and Sheinbaum's absences equally, the BBC neutralises any specific criticism of Trump, distributing accountability across all three leaders. The Niagara Falls watch party piece is warmly celebratory in tone, emphasising cross-border unity. The BBC omits the Trudeau-Perry storyline and the opening ceremony controversies entirely, which represents a notable editorial omission given their newsworthiness.

Watch: Why is Trump not at the World Cup?

Niagara Falls: Is there a better spot to watch a World Cup game?

The Sun right

Angle The Sun uses the World Cup as a vehicle to ridicule and attack Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry, amplifying social media criticism to frame both as embarrassing public figures.

Bias The Sun's Trudeau coverage relies almost entirely on hostile social media posts, selecting the most inflammatory quotes including calling him 'the most hated man in Canada' and a 'fraud', without providing any counterbalancing perspective or context for why he attended the USA game. The Perry performance article similarly curates only negative reactions, framing a largely subjective aesthetic disagreement as broad public condemnation. The Sun omits any mention of Trump's or Carney's absence from their nations' openers, which would contextualise Trudeau's choice and undermine the attack narrative.

‘Fraud’ Justin Trudeau slammed for skipping Canada’s World Cup opener to watch USA with girlfriend Katy Perry

Watch adorable Mexico-supporting DUCK as it joins crowd of fans for World Cup game

World Cup fans spot Katy Perry wearing CANADA pin at USA’s opening game after ‘trainwreck’ performance – ‘terrible’

USA fans made to fork out $22 for beer at opening World Cup game against Paraguay as concession prices revealed

Daily Mail right

Angle The Daily Mail focuses heavily on the opening ceremonies as entertainment spectacles, foregrounding negative fan reactions to performances while also running a parallel positive framing of the same events.

Bias Notably, the Daily Mail published two distinct articles on the Canada ceremony — one leading with fan criticism of Bublé as 'garbage', and another framing the same event as 'glitzy' with an 'electrifying atmosphere' — revealing an internal inconsistency that suggests content volume over editorial coherence. The critical articles amplify social media negativity selectively, similar to The Sun, without representing broader audience sentiment. The Mail gives significant positive coverage to celebrity attendees Reynolds and Myers, lending a glamour angle that distracts from substantive sporting or political reporting.

Katy Perry's 'trainwreck' World Cup opening ceremony in LA slammed by fans: 'She sounded terrible'

Fans slam 'defrosted' Michael Buble over 'garbage' Canada World Cup opening ceremony in Toronto

Michael Buble launches Canada's World Cup with glitzy ceremony as thousands of fans go wild in Toronto

Ryan Reynolds and Mike Myers go wild in Toronto as Canada fights back to earn draw in highly-anticipated World Cup opener