McDonald's has confirmed that six menu items from its World Cup-themed menu have been scrapped immediately, ending the promotion that launched earlier this summer to coincide with the tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Axed Items Include Football-Themed Burgers and Sauces
The now-discontinued menu featured new football-themed burgers, snacks, and sauces, including the Mexican Chipotle Chicken burger and the smoky Sweet Carolina BBQ stack. Other items removed are Mozzarella and Gouda Crunchy Bites, the Galaxy McFlurry, and individually sold pots of the fan-favourite Big Mac Sauce.
The menu officially ended on July 13 (Monday) and will be replaced by new drinks, including Green Apple x Sprite Zero, the Strawberry Candyfloss Frappe, and a Frozen Strawberry Lemonade.
World Cup Semi-Finals Underway
As for World Cup fans, all eyes turn to the semi-finals featuring France vs Spain and England vs Argentina. England left-back Nico O'Reilly is relishing the "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to face Lionel Messi. "I can't wait," O'Reilly, who will probably have to defend against Messi one-on-one if he starts at left-back, told BBC Radio 5 Live. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He's coming towards the end of his career. For me personally, he's the best player to ever touch a football pitch. And yeah, I can't wait for the challenge."
England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford also commented on the challenge ahead. "He has scored so many goals and contributed to so many over his career. It's great to finally come up against him after so long, and watching him as a kid," Pickford told media at England's training base in Kansas on Monday. "We all know how good Messi is but we also know how good Argentina are. We can't solely rely on [stopping] Messi. We've got to focus on their other strengths and the weaknesses we can take advantage of."
The winner of the semi-final will face either France or Spain—who play each other on Tuesday at 8pm—in the World Cup final at the New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday, 19 July at 8pm.
