MONTREAL — Canadians were still recovering from the verbal daggers President Trump lobbed at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at last weekend’s Group of 7 summit meeting in Quebec when the news came that the newly minted frenemies would join Mexico to jointly host the 2026 World Cup.

As it is, Canadians are not exactly known for their international soccer prowess; the men’s soccer team is ranked 79th in the world.

And they had been digesting the incongruous image of Mr. Trump courting a North Korean dictator only hours after he had called their famously mild-mannered leader “very dishonest and weak” and a top Trump trade adviser had said “there’s a special place in hell” for Mr. Trudeau.

But on Wednesday, a jubilant Mr. Trump, fresh from his meeting with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, appeared to signal, however obliquely, that soccer could unify Canada and its erstwhile best friend.