INTERVIEW — MATT BONESTEEL – Sports reporter for The Washington Post — preview the start of World Cup today. @MattBonesteel

WORLD CUP

>> The 2018 FIFA World Cup begins Thursday as host Russia squares off against Saudi Arabia, one day after a U.S.-led coalition won the right to host the 2026 tournament in North America

>> World Cup coming to North America in 2026. The 2026 World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico after their joint bid beat Morocco’s proposal to host it. The ‘United 2026’ bid was selected by Fifa member nations, winning 134 votes compared to 65 for Morocco. The 2026 tournament will be the biggest World Cup ever held – with 48 teams playing 80 matches over 34 days. “Football is the only victor. We are all united in football,” US Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro said.
“Thank you so, so much for this incredible honour. Thank you for entrusting us with this privilege.”

>> Donald J. Trump ‏ @realDonaldTrump 21h21 hours ago: The U.S., together with Mexico and Canada, just got the World Cup. Congratulations – a great deal of hard work!

>> Russian workers are undergoing training to learn how to smile ahead of the World Cup. Workers in Russia are being taught how to smile in a bid to be more welcoming to tourists during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which kicks off on Thursday. ussians do not smile as much as other Europeans, according to the BBC. An article in The Atlantic attempts to explain why when it loosely translates a Russian proverb: “Laughing for no reason is a sign of stupidity.”

>> Russian women should avoid sex with foreign men during World Cup: lawmaker. Russian women should avoid sex with non-white foreign men during the soccer World Cup because they could become single mothers to mixed race children, a senior lawmaker in Moscow said on Wednesday. Even when Russian women marry foreigners the relationships often end badly, said Tamara Pletnyova, head of parliament’s committee for families, women and children. Women are often stranded abroad or in Russia but unable to get their children back, she said.

>> World Cup 2018 host cities in Russia allegedly killing off stray dogs ahead of tournament. At least seven of the 11 Russian cities hosting World Cup matches have ordered street dogs to be killed off before Russia and Saudi Arabia spar off to officially commence this year’s tournament on June 14, animal-rights activists told Fox News.