England Game in Huge Jeopardy After US Threat

The 2026 World Cup drama is showing no signs of slowing down just months away from the competition kicking off in June. England could now become involved due to an ongoing spat in the United States of America.

Thomas Tuchel’s side are among the favourites after strolling into the world’s biggest international tournament last year with a perfect record in the qualifying phase, but they now face uncertainty. They’re not the only ones, either, as Steve Clarke’s Scotland are in the same boat.

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The Gillette Stadium in Boston is set to host England’s June 23 clash with Ghana, as well as Scotland’s fixtures against Haiti and Morocco. A dispute around security funding has now put those matches in serious doubt, according to The Mirror.

England and Scotland’s World Cup games at Risk

Officials in Foxborough, where Gillette Stadium is situated, have refused to grant an essential licence for games to be played at the venue. The New England officials have therefore threatened to pull the plug on any scheduled matches at the ground, not only those involving England and Scotland.

If they do not receive vital public safety money, the local board in Foxborough has suggested they will not issue the entertainment licence required to stage the games inside the New England Patriots’ home.

This would throw travel plans of all fans planning to attend any of the seven games scheduled to take place inside the 64,628-seater venue into complete chaos. Supporters have already gone to huge lengths to secure flights, accommodation, tickets and anything else needed for the Boston-based matches.

FIFA organisers would be required to find somewhere else for the fixtures to be played, causing a logistical nightmare for themselves, teams involved and travelling supporters. There’s not long for it all to be resolved either.

New York-Based Fan Zone Cancelled

Credit: New York Giants

The latest major blow to the upcoming tournament comes in the form of the ‘Fan Festival’ at Liberty State Park in New Jersey being called off. The event was promised to be the centrepiece of the World Cup in the city and was set to run for the entire 39-day event.

Officials have blamed the expected £740,000-per-day cost. However, tickets had already been sold for the first match at the MetLife Stadium between Mexico and South Africa. Jersey City, which runs Liberty State Park, said in a statement (per The Sun):