The US along with Canada and Mexico is hosting the 2026 World Cup although soccer/football had been neither widely played or not a great favourite in the US. However, soccer’s star is rising. A very different game from US football, soccer has, in recent years, become the third most popular sport in the US, overtaking baseball, once the national pastime. About 12 per cent of US sports fans call soccer their favourite sport; US football is ranked tops by 36 per cent and basketball by 17 per cent.