NFL legend Eli Manning has become one of the most respected voices in football since retiring from the league in 2020. The younger Manning has since become renowned for hosting the ‘Manningcast’ alongside his brother, Peyton Manning, and the ‘Eli Manning Show’ alongside his former New York Giants teammate, Shaun O’Hara.
But with the 2026 FIFA World Cup on home soil, the Giants legend decided to ditch the gridiron to get a taste of some soccer action.
Eli Manning Attends FIFA World Cup Game With His Son
On Tuesday evening, Manning posted a picture on X of himself and his son, Charles Elisha Manning, at the FIFA World Cup game pitting France against Senegal at New York New Jersey Stadium. He captioned the post:
“Charlie told me there was a football game today, so we had to show up,” Manning wrote.
The Giants icon certainly chose a pretty good game for his first taste of soccer. Kylian Mbappe (whose France side have so much firepower that even President Donald Trump took notice) found himself on the scoresheet twice as Les Bleus racked up a 3-1 win over the African heavyweights in their World Cup opener.
Manning and his wife, Abby McGrew, have four children: Ava (14), Lucy (12), Caroline (9) and Charlie (8). The couple met at the University of Mississippi and have been married since 2008.
Charlie was born on Super Bowl Sunday eight years ago, and over the years, Manning has shared several pictures on various social media platforms of them fishing, playing golf, and attending flag football games.
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In an interview with “PEOPLE” last year, the former Giants quarterback revealed that despite showing his son the basics of football, he would not pressure him to play the sport that has become like a family heirloom for the Mannings.
“And then I got my little guy who’s 6 years old, he’s into right now playing flag football and basketball and baseball and playing some hockey as well,” Manning said at the time.
“It’s a family business. No pressure at all. I mean, we are up at 5 in the morning every day doing dropbacks and lifting weights already, but there’s no pressure for him to become a quarterback or play football.”
During the interview, Manning further revealed that his daughters inspired his decision to become a part owner of the NWSL team, Gotham FC, in 2022.
“As a dad, I want to make sure that my daughters have all the athletic opportunities that I was blessed with,” he said.
As football season approaches in a few months, all eyes will be on Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, who is Eli’s nephew via his eldest brother, Cooper Manning, cementing the family as one of the premier names in both college football and the NFL.
