FIFA has removed the first official poster of the 2026 World Cup from their social media accounts, according to reports, after it received huge backlash from fans.
A total of 42 teams have secured qualification for next summer's World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, while six more places are up for grabs at the historic 48-team tournament.
On Thursday afternoon, a play-off draw determined the final four European qualifiers, with Northern Ireland, Wales, and the Republic of Ireland finding out who they will face in March next year.
A further two places will be decided from an intercontinental play-off,
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Next month, on the afternoon of December 5, the final draw for the World Cup will take place at the Kennedy Center in Washington, where the likes of England, Germany, Brazil, Spain and Portugal will discover their fate.
After some of the world's best teams confirmed their spot at next summer's tournament, FIFA released its first promotional poster featuring players from all qualified nations.
As seen in the picture below, a flurry of high-profile names featured on the poster, including Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Lionel Messi, who will likely take part in his last World Cup.
But, to the surprise of many, Cristiano Ronaldo was left out, with Bruno Fernandes being Portugal's sole representative next to Austria's Marko Arnautovic.
Ronaldo's absence sparked a huge reaction from fans on social media, with one commenting: "The sport’s biggest face, no debate."
A second wrote: "FIFA leaving Cristiano Ronaldo off the official World Cup poster is hard to understand. From a marketing point of view, he’s the most influential athlete on the planet, the kind of face that sells a tournament."
A third added: "2026 World Cup poster without Ronaldo? Feels strange. He was the face of every tournament for nearly two decades along with Messi."
After the backlash from fans, FIFA removed the poster from its official X account on Thursday, according to numerous publications, including Tribuna.
It is unclear why FIFA removed the post, despite suggestions that they deleted it due to backlash regarding Ronaldo's absence. SPORTbible has reached out to FIFA for comment.
Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't dream of winning the World Cup
Earlier this month, Ronaldo said his legacy will not be defined by whether or not he wins the World Cup.
"If you ask me, Cristiano, is it a dream to win the World Cup? No, it's not a dream," Ronaldo said in an interview with Piers Morgan. "Define what? To define if I'm one of the best of the history, to win one competition, [of] six games, seven games. You think it's fair?"
Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, FIFA, FIFA World Cup
Jack Kenmare