USA mascot for 2026 World Cup leaked

The USA mascot for the 2026 World Cup emerged today in early designs and logos. The tournament, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, is the first tournament to involve three countries hosting games. It is just the second tournament to have more than one host. South Korea and Japan jointly hosted the 2002 World Cup.

Mascots are a mainstay of the World Cup. In 2014, Brazil unveiled Fuleco, an armadillo. The leopard Zakumi showed up for the World Cup four years before then. Even Qatar 2022 has a mascot, La’eeb, but FIFA left interpretation over what the mascot is up to viewers and fans.

Now, there are early leaks over what the USA mascot is for the 2026 World Cup. There is also an indication over what Canada and Mexico have.

Broken down, the United States is clearly Uncle Sam, the patriotic fictional hero of the country. Canada’s mascot is a moose, a fitting animal for the northern country. Mexico’s is a cactus. The cactus is certainly the most outlandish of the three shown above.

USA mascot for 2026 World Cup

Uncle Sam is a fitting mascot for the USA at the 2026 World Cup. Not only is Uncle Sam easily recognizable, but he is actually a human. It makes the ‘realism’ aspect more applicable, even if there is no precedent for realism when it comes to World Cup mascots. After all, the Qatar 2022 mascot resembles a ghost.

The Canadian mascot, a moose, is fairly standard when it comes to a World Cup. Generally, when an animal is involved, it is something that has a connection to the country itself. Russia had a wolf. France used its famous rooster in 1998. The first World Cup mascot was a lion when England hosted the World Cup in 1966. That fits, as England is, after all, the Three Lions. In this case, a moose might be one of the more fitting mascots of late.

Mexico is where things get interesting. Having hosted twice before, Mexico had some things to go off. In 1970, Mexico has a baby in a sombrero with the name Juanito. The sombrero is a staple of Mexican culture. Sombreros returned in 1986. However, the thing wearing the sombrero was a giant chili pepper. To be fair, the chili pepper, named Pique, resembled a human.

In 2026, the cactus also has human features. Arms, legs, a face and that reliable sombrero returns to the fold. However, with an eagle and a snake also prominently on the Mexican flag, those maybe could have fit in better with the theme.