Summary: They're ready for their “World Cup hot girl summer."
Like a fairytale princess on a magic carpet ride, Dee Vel-Baque’s ready to explore a whole new world of dating.
But without a genie to grant her romantic wish, the New Jerseyan’s letting it all ride on the sexy soccer fanatics — and professional athletes, if she’s lucky — in town for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which kicked off Thursday.
“The World Cup is here; there are so many outings between New York City and North Jersey, so many parties and activities for locals and people who’ve traveled here for the games,” Vel-Baque, 33, a nanny based in Union County, told The Post. “The dating pool just expanded so much more.”
The single is just 30 quick minutes away from MetLife Stadium, the host of eight face-offs, including last Saturday’s matchup between Brazil and Morocco and the upcoming France versus Senegal bout.
The weeks-long tournament, back on US territory for the first time in three decades, is expected to attract approximately 6.5 million visitors from across the country.
A promising 56 percent of those out-of-towers will be men, who, per a June 2026 study, are interested in America’s nightlife, eateries, bars, clubs and pubs, and, of course, “meeting local people.”
That’s where Vel-Baque, alongside thousands of other gals on the prowl, is hoping to score.
Natalie, a lifestyle influencer from Los Angeles who didn’t give her last name, urged single women to spend the next two months focused on hooking a hottie who “doesn’t even speak English,” rather than a local louse.
“It’s giving, ‘I met your dad [during] the FIFA World Cup 2026,’” the cheeky content creator joked in a post, practicing telling her fictitious future children how she landed their father this hot season.
And she’s not limiting her hunt for Mr. Right to guests of the Garden State and the Big Apple.
“I’ve got a leg up because I invested. I’m going to games in Philly, Kansas, Boston and Dallas,” boasted the brunette, who’ll also be attending FIFA Fan Fest events. “The minute I found out that the US was hosting the World Cup, I saved up for tickets.”
It’s a hefty investment, for which the team Ecuador devotee spent roughly $2,000 on bargain-basement tickets via online resellers — not including the cost of flights and lodging she’ll accrue while traveling.
But a couple of thousand bucks is a small price to pay when a potential match made in heaven is the big payoff, especially since the 2026 dating scene is a dud.
In fact, the Big Apple was recently ranked the No. 1 place where the unattached are most likely to die alone, with loveless locations, such as Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida, Nevada and Hawaii, in similarly dire straits.
Karen Gutierrez, 31, a bachelorette based in Dallas, Texas, told The Post that, much like Vel-Baque, she hopes the winds of love will begin to change as guys from across the globe blow into town.