McDonald’s World Cup 26 Meal is turning the tournament into a limited-time restaurant rollout. The company is pairing matchday food with collectible cups, Happy Meal Squishmallows, app rewards, and in-person fan experiences.
In a PRNewswire release, McDonald’s said participating restaurants worldwide will offer FIFA World Cup 26 meals and Happy Meals while supplies last. The campaign lands as more brands build around next year’s tournament. That includes transportation plans like Uber’s fixed-price World Cup stadium shuttles.
Collectible cups lead the main meal
Starting June 4 in the U.S., the FIFA World Cup 26 Meal lets fans choose a Big Mac or 10-piece Chicken McNuggets. The meal also includes limited-edition gold packaged Big Mac Sauce.
The bigger hook is the cup lineup. McDonald’s says each meal includes one of nine collectible cups. The featured names include Christian Pulisic, David Beckham, Ronaldinho Gaucho, Thierry Henry, Son Heung-Min, Lamine Yamal, Alphonso Davies, Santiago Gimenez, and Grimace.
Breakfast also gets a tournament tie-in. Fans can pick from a Sausage McMuffin with Egg or a Sausage Egg Biscuit with Hash Browns.
Happy Meals get Squishmallows
The FIFA World Cup 26 Happy Meal starts June 9. Each order comes with one of 23 Squishmallows plushies. The lineup includes mascots for Canada, Mexico, and the United States, the three host countries for the tournament.
McDonald’s says every Squishmallows Happy Meal will come in special packaging. A scannable code unlocks an exclusive digital game on HappyMeal.com. In the U.S., part of every FIFA World Cup 26 Happy Meal purchase will support Ronald McDonald House families.
The app and fan events round it out
The company is also tying the campaign to the McDonald’s app. Fans can expect exclusive offers, tournament rewards, and bonus points when ordering the meal through the app.
McDonald’s is also using the World Cup partnership to spotlight restaurant workers through McDonald’s FC, short for Fan Crew. Select crew members will get tournament experiences. Those perks include host-city matches and a chance to play on an official FIFA World Cup 26 pitch.
This is not just a new sauce wrapper or a collectible cup drop. McDonald’s is using the World Cup as a full campaign. Food, toys, digital rewards, and live fan moments all orbit the same tournament.
