The 2026 World Cup draw played out on Friday, December 5 — or dragged out, as plenty of fans argued — and the presentation garnered mixed reviews, to put it nicely.
Kevin Hart and Heidi Klum cohosted the event, with Hart, 46, attempting to prove his soccer bona fides to an international audience of millions.
“I am proud to be here as a soccer fan,” he told the crowd. “Wait, correction. I should not say soccer. The rest of the world calls it football. I do know my Messi from my Michael Jordan, I know my Cristiano from my Stephen Curry, I know my Bellingham from my Tom Brady.”
Despite Hart’s best efforts, diehard soccer fans were not amused.
“Americans are so cringe talking about football get kevin hart off my screen,” one viewer wrote via X.
“This World Cup draw is going to be a humiliation ritual for Americans,” another added. “How the f*** is Kevin Hart and Heidi Klum our representatives of the sport in this country?”
Hart seemed to sense he was bombing as well, telling the crowd the final time he came on stage, “Sorry, you won’t see me again after this, I promise.”
Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli opened the ceremony by singing the aria Nessun Dorma. Bocelli, 67, is forever linked to the sport due to a tragic soccer-related accident as a child that left him blind.
“Going from Bocelli to Kevin Hart is the biggest L America has ever taken,” yet another viewer said.
Kevin Hart and Shaquille O’Neal Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
That’s not to say the crowd didn’t laugh at all. In an unintentionally comedic moment, Hart, who is somewhere between 5-foot-2 and 5-foot-5, stood next to 7-foot-1 Shaquille O’Neal, one of the many celebrity presenters on-hand at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
“AHAHAHAH Kevin Hart and Shaq [O’Neal] next to each other has me DYING 😭😭😭😭 #WorldCup2026,” wrote one user.
Irish sportsbook Paddy Power may have won the day, however, by facetiously pointing out, “Fun Fact: Shaquille O’Neal was born the same height as Kevin Hart currently is.”’
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And to be fair, not everybody piled on Hart’s performance. One viewer wrote, “I hate how funny Kevin hart is when he’s riffing.”
“Kevin Hart stood next to tall people in an allegedly serious segment is still quite funny,” another said.
Athletes from across American sports also participated in the ceremony, including New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge, hockey great Wayne Gretzky and legendary quarterback Tom Brady.
“Being part of the Final Draw for the FIFA World Cup is an incredible honor – it’s the kind of global stage every athlete dreams of,” said Brady, 48. “I’m excited to help set the path for a tournament that brings the world together like nothing else.”
President Donald Trump was also on-hand to accept the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize, presented to him by organization president Gianni Infantino. A known Yankees fan, Trump, 79, was seen with Judge, 33, telling him, “What a good player, what a player. So you have that much muscle, you have to hit the ball far.”
The draw itself, which drew plenty of complaints for dragging out over two hours, divided the record 48 participating nations into 12 groups. Those groups will compete against each other across the United States, Mexico and Canada in 2026 to determine the 32 that advance to the knockout stage.
The United States found itself in Group D, alongside Paraguay, Australia and one country still yet to qualify.
The 2026 World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19.
