Pallade Veneta - Trump set for soccer -- or football -- diplomacy at World Cup draw

Trump will try to do so again Friday when he meets the leaders of 2026 World Cup co-hosts Canada and Mexico at the tournament's draw in Washington.

As the first World Cup hosted by three countries simultaneously, it should be a golden opportunity to show North American unity, with the three leaders reportedly set to take part in a ceremonial draw.

But Trump's aggressive stance towards his allies on trade, migration and drug-trafficking since his return to power means they will have thorny issues to tackle on the sidelines of the gala event.

For Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum it will be her first meeting with Trump. She told reporters they would discuss bilateral trade during the "small meeting" before the draw, in which the 48 qualifying teams are divided into 12 World Cup groups.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has visited the White House twice but it will be his first encounter with Trump since briefly meeting in South Korea in November, after Trump suspended trade talks in a bizarre row over an anti-tariff ad.

They will have a "brief meeting during their time together at the Kennedy Center," the venue for the tournament draw, Carney's office told AFP Thursday, adding that he would also meet briefly with Sheinbaum.

Trump has slapped steep tariffs on exports from Canada and Mexico that do not fall under the USMCA trade agreement that Washington is seeking to renegotiate next year.

He has threatened further punishment if they fail to curb cross-border migration and drug trafficking -- and irked Sheinbaum by saying he would be "OK" with airstrikes on Mexico to tackle traffickers.

Canada meanwhile was outraged by Trump's calls earlier this year for it to become the 51st US state.

- FIFA 'peace prize' -

Yet the three countries now find themselves hosting the world's biggest sporting event together, having launched their joint bid in 2017 during Trump's first term in the White House.

He has unashamedly seized on the World Cup to score political and diplomatic points -- even though the golf fan's knowledge of the beautiful game mainly comes from his son Barron, 19.

The US president has struck up a close friendship with FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, who also has close ties with a number of authoritarian leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Trump dangled the carrot of the chance to compete at the 2026 World Cup as a possible "incentive" for Russia -- banned from international football since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine -- to end the war.

Infantino is set to play to Trump's love of flattery when he presents a new FIFA "peace prize" on Friday that the US leader is widely expected to win.

Trump has hosted Infantino several times at the White House -- as he did Portuguese superstar Ronaldo at a dinner for visiting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in November.

But Trump's football diplomacy has also risked colliding with his domestic priority of a massive crackdown on immigration.

Trump recently unveiled a special fast-track visa process for people with World Cup tickets, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that a ticket would not guarantee admission to the United States.

More recently, Trump responded to an Afghan national allegedly shooting two National Guard members in Washington by slapping a freeze on all asylum decisions from 19 countries.

They include World Cup participants Haiti and Iran.

Trump has also caused jitters at FIFA and in foreign capitals by threatening to move World Cup matches from Democratic-run cities where he has launched anti-crime and immigrant operations.

E.M.Filippelli--PV