As a new poll shows global confidence in American leadership is at an all-time low, US Soccer president Sunil Gulati has raised concerns about the country’s 2026 World Cup bid.

The US is widely seen as a favorite to win the bid for the 2026 tournament, which it plans to co-host with Mexico and Canada. However, a new Gallup poll of 134 countries shows global approval for the US has fallen from 48% under Barack Obama’s presidency to 30% after one year of Donald Trump. According to the survey, Germany and China are now seen as more reliable world leaders than the US.

The North American bid is backed by far better infrastructure than Morocco, the only other rival for the 2026 hosting rights. However, Gulati says other factors could come into play.

“This is not only about our stadiums and our hotels and all that,” he said at the United Soccer Coaches convention on Thursday.

“It’s about perceptions of America, and it’s a difficult time in the world. So there’s only certain things we can control. We can’t control what happens at the 38th parallel in Korea, we can’t control what happens with embassies in Tel Aviv, and we can’t control what happens with climate change accords.

That statement appeared to be a reference to Trump’s policies but Gulati did say he has the backing of the US government. “We do the best we can,” he added. “We have the support of Washington.”

When the bid was officially launched in April, Gulati said Trump was “fully supportive” of the bid and “especially pleased” that Mexico is part of it.

Despite Gulati’s concerns the North American bid is still expected to win out when Fifa votes on the issue in June. After past scandals, the hosts will be decided by the entire voting body rather than just the Fifa executive council.

“We have to go out and convince what eventually will be 104 voters to vote for us,” Gulati said. “We would like to get a few extra to not make it a one-vote swing. But this won’t be easy.”

Interestingly, one of the countries in which America’s standing has risen since Trump came into power is Morocco. Meanwhile, confidence in the US among Canadians and Mexicans has fallen dramatically.