BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26. The 2026 FIFA World
Cup is the most complex sporting event in history, with 20 host
cities across three countries, U.S. Embassy spokesperson Anthony
Tranchina said, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.


He made the remarks during the "USA-Türkiye World Cup Watch
Party" hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan in Baku on June
26.


"It is really a pleasure to be here to welcome the world to the
USA-Türkiye game for the 2026 World Cup," Tranchina said.


He noted that this year's tournament is the most complex
sporting event in history, with 20 cities in three countries
serving as hosts.


"The United States is thrilled to be one of the three co-hosts
for this year's World Cup, welcoming the world to showcase American
hospitality and American excellence in sports," he said.


According to Tranchina, Azerbaijan is also recognized as one of
the world's leading hosts of international sporting events.


"The United States and Azerbaijan are both proud to be among the
countries that host premier sporting events globally," he said.


Commenting on the match itself, Tranchina described it as an
exciting contest.


"As we've seen, America was ahead, now Türkiye is ahead, and I
think that we're going to have a really exciting second half to the
match," he said.


Tranchina said he was not ready to predict the winner but
stressed that he was proud of Team USA regardless of the
outcome.


"This is probably the best Team USA in the World Cup that we've
ever seen," he said.







He recalled that the United States finished third at the
inaugural FIFA World Cup and expressed hope that this year's team
would become the first American side to reach the World Cup
final.


Speaking about the overall performance of the U.S. national
team, Tranchina said it is the strongest squad the country has
fielded at a World Cup.


"We won our first two games. The game today against Türkiye is
very competitive, and I am very proud that we've already made the
second round," he said.


According to Tranchina, Team USA has the potential to achieve
its best-ever World Cup result.


"We're hopeful that you'll see America in the semifinals or even
the finals," he said.


Asked why the embassy had chosen to organize a watch party
specifically for the United States-Türkiye match, Tranchina said
the decision reflected Azerbaijanis' strong support for the Turkish
national team.


"I think there's a lot of affection for the Turkish team in
Azerbaijan, which is why we selected the USA-Türkiye match to host
our Azerbaijani friends and the sporting community of Baku," he
said.


Tranchina added that the embassy also believed it would be one
of the tournament's most entertaining fixtures.


"The United States and Türkiye have very, very good teams, and
we thought that this would be the best match to show our
Azerbaijani friends. It also was at the right time of the morning,"
he said.