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.
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“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.
Her home city is one of the 16 World Cup host cities, where nine matches will take place at the Dallas Stadium.
“This is such an exciting time for us single girlies,” gushed Gutierrez, who recently redownloaded buzzy dating apps like Hinge, Bumble and Tinder for the first time since late last year. “I’ve been updating my profile with new summertime pictures, photos of me in my Team USA and Team Mexico soccer jerseys.”
“To my answer to the dating app prompt ‘I’m best known for,’ I wrote, ‘Knowing the best football bars,’ because foreign fans call it ‘football,’ not ‘soccer,’” she giggled.
Gutierrez admits, however, that while she is keen on the sport, she’s much more interested in “having a fun summer” — preferably with an over 6-foot-tall, handsome, Spanish-speaking suitor.
Should her wish come true, the millennial plans to take her newcomer beau to local hotspots for drinks. And if drinks turn into a long-distance relationship, so be it, says the hopeful.
“Of course, if I meet the love of my life and sparks are flying like crazy, I’ll take it,” Gutierrez laughed. “That’s the dream.”
It’s a fantasy scenario that single sirens, even those in cities where no World Cup games will be played, are expecting to experience — even if it means becoming a tourist, too.
“The World Cup just gives me an excuse to take trips to New York City, Los Angeles, Miami,” insisted Pat Morad, 33, a tech industry pro from Chicago, revealing that summertime travel plans could lead to snagging her forever man.
Morad also took to social media, encouraging herself and others looking for love to “lock the f–k in,” as flocks of “foreign daddies and papis” — terms of endearment for heartthrobs — are on their way.
“James Rodriguez is going to be in these streets,” she yelped, referencing the charming captain of Colombia’s national team. “He may even be in my bed. We don’t know. The point is we’re going to have professional athletes and international men at our disposal.”
“Dating in your 30s is a drab. Getting on the apps, deleting them, then getting back on there is not something anyone looks forward to,” she groaned. “But when you tie it to something fun, like the World Cup, it becomes a fun experience regardless of the outcome.”
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