United States, Mexico and Canada, joint hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, have all been eliminated from the tournament, following the USA’s 4-1 defeat to Belgium in the Round of 16 on Monday in Seattle.

‎The US exit completes a difficult tournament for all three co-hosts, who had each reached the knockout stage on home soil but fell short of the quarter-finals.

‎Canada were the first of the trio to bow out, losing 3-0 to Morocco in the Round of 16 on Saturday, July 4, in a tie in which Morocco’s Azzedine Ounahi scored twice before a late strike from Soufiane Rahimi sealed the result.

‎Canada’s campaign was also hampered by injury concerns over star winger, Alphonso Davies.

‎Mexico followed on Sunday, suffering a 3-2 defeat to England at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, in front of more than 80,000 fans.

‎Jude Bellingham scored twice in a 98-second span in the first half, and Harry Kane converted a penalty after England were reduced to 10 men, to end Mexico’s bid for a first quarter-final appearance since it last hosted the tournament in 1986.

‎Mexico coach, Javier Aguirre, is set to be replaced by his assistant, Rafael Marquez, following the exit.

‎The United States’ elimination on Monday completed the sweep.

‎Belgium ran out comfortable 4-1 winners at Lumen Field in Seattle, a result that followed a build-up dominated by controversy over a reinstated red card against US forward, Folarin Balogun, and comments from US President Donald Trump on the match.

‎The 2026 World Cup is the first to be jointly hosted by three nations, and the first held with an expanded 48-team format.

‎The tournament, which began on June 11, runs across 16 cities — 11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada — and is scheduled to conclude with the final on July 19.

‎With all three co-hosts now out, the remaining quarter-final field is made up entirely of non-host nations, including Morocco, France, Norway, Spain, Belgium, England, Argentina and Egypt or Switzerland and Colombia, with the final pairings still to be completed. (PUNCH)

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