Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand had the honour of presenting the World Cup draw at the beginning of December.
The countdown for the World Cup is underway because there will be many Manchester United players and transfer targets involved in the tournament next summer.
In 2022, United defender Lisandro Martinez was part of the Argentina squad that was crowned world champions.
Martinez became the fifth player to win the World Cup while at United. The others include Sir Bobby Charlton, Nobby Stiles, John Connelly, and Paul Pogba.
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It would be fantastic if more of the current players could join that list, with Casemiro set to captain Brazil at the World Cup.
Meanwhile, United have several players who run the risk of missing out on a place in their national teams, including England quartet Harry Maguire, Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount and Luke Shaw.
Rio Ferdinand on stage at the 2026 World Cup draw
Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images
Rio Ferdinand reflects on 2026 World Cup draw
Rio Ferdinand is remembered as one of the greatest centre-backs to have played for United.
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Nowadays, Ferdinand is a media personality, featuring regularly on podcasts following a stint as one of TNT Sports’ leading football pundits.
Ferdinand stepped away from his TNT Sports role in the summer when he moved to Dubai. The iconic defender helped host the World Cup draw in Washington DC earlier this month, with United States President Donald Trump in attendance.
“It was quite a surreal moment, I’ll be honest with you,” Ferdinand said on the Inside Carrington podcast.
“You don’t ever anticipate, when growing up, that you’re going to meet the president of America and you’re actually going to address him when you’re on stage, hosting an event that. It was quite surreal. But it was a great experience.
“I’ve watched FIFA draws all my life really, because you’re always wanting England to do well and wondering who are we going to get, where are the other teams. So, to be a part of it, was really good. Technical, I must say, and difficult.”
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Ferdinand revealed that he was more nervous about presenting the World Cup draw than he was ahead of the 2008 Champions League final when United beat Chelsea on penalties in Moscow.
“The presentation was miles ahead, in terms of nerves!
“Because, in the Champions League, I’m just doing what I’ve done for 15 to 20 years. You’re nervous, and there’s a bit of fear, but there was a lot of fear and a lot of nerves with the draw, because it’s the unknown and also the technicalities.
“The fella – I forget his name now – who was telling me how to do it and guiding me, he was unreal. He was brilliant and knew everything. But when I was asking him questions prior to doing the show, his answers were maybe to give me two or three points for the answer. And I’m thinking, ‘right, I’ve got to give that to the crowd and to the millions of people watching in one answer, not two or three’.
“It was quite nerve-wracking. Until the day we did a rehearsal, on the morning of it, I was like to my missus, ‘this could go really, really, really, really, really badly’.”
Rio Ferdinand experiences awkward moment during World Cup draw
Although the 47-year-old didn’t mention it on his podcast appearance with United, Ferdinand clashed with a famous actor at the event.
Ferdinand was standing alongside presenter Samantha Johnson when he took issue with a question asked by Danny Ramirez.
Ramirez was in the crowd next to Real Madrid and Spain legend Iker Casillas when he asked: “Hey Rio, did you ever get to score on [Casillas]?”
Not impressed with the line of questioning, Ferdinand fired back, saying: “What type of question is that Danny? I’m a defender.”
Ramirez replied: “I know, but you come up for headers all the time.”
This led to Ferdinand adding: “You see what I’m saying? This weren’t in the script either, what are you tryna do out here?”
Johnson intervened to warn Ferdinand and Ramirez to remain professional.
The final comment was made by Ferdinand, who cheekily remarked: “I wanna talk to you later.”
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