- Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to travel to Los Angeles to lead the U.S. delegation for the opening ceremony of the World Cup 2026 soccer tournament.
- Rubio will be accompanied by Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and Homeland Security chief Markwayne Mullin during the visit. The delegation will attend Team USA’s first match against Paraguay on Friday night.
- In addition to the World Cup events, Rubio is slated to meet with Paraguayan President Santiago Peña in Los Angeles.
- The Trump officials could get a frosty welcome after backlash over visa issues. The U.S. refused entry to a World Cup referee from Somali and Iran's football federation said their fan ticket allocation for the World Cup had been revoked.
- The Iranian playing squad, based in Mexico, will reportedly be allowed into the U.S. only on match days and must depart immediately after games, preventing them from fulfilling standard pre-match duties, while 15 Iranian officials were also denied visas.
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