Politics

Uzbekistan can’t win the World Cup. But it’s already won Washington’s attention.

Published

1 day ago

June 27, 2026

Uzbekistan’s team will head home after its final group-stage match today, against the Democratic Republic of Congo. But the country has worked to use its début World Cup performance — the first ever by a Central Asian nation — to help Washington policymakers put a face to a geographical name once recognizable.

Before the team’s match against Portugal this week, a group of ambassadors, policymakers and government officials met in Houston to discuss the United States’ burgeoning reliance on the “Central Five” nations — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — for critical minerals. The only one of those so-called C5 countries to qualify for the World Cup is Uzbekistan.

“This emergence of Uzbekistan on the soccer scene as a world-class team playing in the World Cup is sort of a microcosm for what’s happening for the entire C5 region,” Assistant Secretary of Commerce David Fogel said at the panel, which was hosted by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and the State Department. “The C5 region is front and center in everyone’s mind.”

Trump is scaling up America’s footprint in Central Asia in hopes of reducing American reliance on Chinese supply chains, as Beijing grows increasingly dominant in the critical minerals sphere. In November, he hosted Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the White House to discuss the nations’ growing economic ties — and Mirziyoyev walked away agreeing to a $400 million investment in American companies’ critical minerals and rare earths supply chains.

That commitment is “good not just for our economy, but also for our national security,” said Richard Parker, the leadership coalition’s senior policy adviser, “when you consider that China really has the market on the processing of critical minerals globally.”

Mirziyoyev has praised his country’s soccer team as representatives of a “New Uzbekistan,” finally emerging from its Soviet era as a geopolitical force on its own terms, but after defeats in its first two matches, it can’t progress further in the World Cup.

Politics

Capitol agenda: House GOP agenda gets tenuous Trump lifeline

Published

1 hour ago

June 29, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The president told a band of GOP hard-liners to lift their blockade of House floor business, but some are doubling down in new ways…
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Politics

Iranian diplomat blasts ‘pseudo-VAR’ interventions after World Cup exit

Published

2 hours ago

June 29, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Iran’s ambassador to Mexico praised the country’s national soccer team after its elimination from the FIFA World Cup, while also highlighting the controversial video review decisions that influenced the outcome of the tournament.

In a lengthy statement to Blue Light News, Ambassador Abolfazl Pasandideh argued that Iran battled not only its opponents but also “fatigue, injustice, and hardships that rarely appeared before the cameras,” later criticizing what he called “pseudo-VAR” interventions.

“Perhaps some balls fell just centimeters short of bringing joy to millions of Iranians — centimeters that were not even measured by the linesman’s flag, yet were magnified by ‘pseudo-VAR’ interventions,” Pasandideh wrote. “However, nothing could ever diminish the magnitude of your determination.“

FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

He cast the team’s World Cup run in overtly patriotic terms, comparing the players to legendary Persian heroes including Arash and Rostam and arguing that “true championship lies in loyalty to the flag.”

Addressing the players as the “brave sons of Iran,” Pasandideh said they had demonstrated a willingness to give “the last drop of life for Iran” and predicted the national team would return “stronger, more experienced, and more brilliant” in future international competitions.

Politics

World Cup attendance: The potential 2028ers

Published

4 hours ago

June 28, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania has notched a lead in the 2028 World Cup primary, having attended three matches leading into the knockout round — just ahead of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

In an interview with Blue Light News this week at the FIFA Fan Festival at Fairmount Park’s Lemon Hill, Shapiro reveled in Philadelphia’s host duties — and the World Cup more broadly.

“I’m especially proud to see people from all across the world coming here to Philadelphia and being greeted not just by a governor who’s happy they’re here, but by Philadelphians and Pennsylvanians who are thrilled to see them here,” Shapiro told Blue Light News in an interview. “I think we are better than [President] Donald Trump’s cruel rhetoric. We are better than his cruel policies, and I think we’re seeing that on display here during the World Cup in Philly.”

Here are the potential 2028 presidential hopefuls who have attended a World Cup game so far:

— Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro: 3 matches (Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador; France vs. Iraq; Curaçao vs. Ivory Coast)

— Secretary of State Marco Rubio: 2 matches (U.S. vs. Paraguay; Colombia vs. Portugal)

— California Gov. Gavin Newsom: 1 match (U.S. vs. Paraguay)

— Former Vice President Kamala Harris: 1 match (U.S. vs. Turkey)

— Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: 1 match (U.S. vs. Australia)

— Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: 1 match (Scotland vs. Brazil)