President Donald Trump listens to FIFA President Gianni Infantino speak at a reception at Trump Tower in New York on Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Jacqueline Martin/AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to present the World Cup trophy to the winner of Sunday’s final between Argentina and Spain. But for him, the real winner of the main football tournament could well be the United States.
“We happen to be a soccer country, and I think we will continue to be a soccer nation,” Trump said Friday at a FIFA reception at Trump Tower in New York. “It really brought the world together.”
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For the White House, Sunday’s game is the culmination of more than a year of navigating a long list of logistical challenges with Canada and Mexico competing in the biggest World Cup in history. He had to balance the Trump administration’s tough immigration policies, which prevented fans from some World Cup qualifying countries from entering the United States.
The White House has received warnings from human rights groups, and the tournament has come under criticism for high ticket prices. For months, Trump had flirted with the idea of removing games from cities that did not cooperate with federal immigration authorities, and in the weeks leading up to the tournament, local officials clashed with FIFA over high travel costs, further raising tensions.
As the first matches prepared to begin, the government remained under global scrutiny over its visa decisions, such as denying entry to a Somali referee who had been praised for his work. The pressure intensified after Trump went to war with Iran, forcing the government to deal with an Iranian team whose fans and some support staff were barred from entering the United States and which eventually settled across the border in Tijuana.
But the overall narrative of the World Cup eventually changed. Social media was awash with stories of fans around the world enjoying American treats and traditions, from beer to ranch dressing. Some concerns about the Trump administration that had circulated beforehand, such as the threat of immigration raids near the games, never materialized.
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“One of the things we said early on was that if we talk about what happened on the field, then we’ve done our job,” Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House task force on FIFA, said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But I think this is even better. We’re not just talking about incredible athletic achievements on the court, we’re talking about all these incredible, incredible cultural moments.”
However, Trump did spark controversy with a phone call he made earlier this month to FIFA chief Gianni Infantino asking for a review of a controversial refereeing decision in Team USA’s game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The referee showed American star striker Folarin Balogun a red card, meaning he would not be able to play in the next match against Belgium.
Trump says he simply asked Infantino, who has become close to the US president and has been criticized for it, to reconsider the move. FIFA later reversed the decision, with Trump telling Infantino at a FIFA reception on Friday that “you’ve made another big decision, if you think about it” because it allowed the United States to keep a key player on the field even though the team lost 4-1 to Belgium.
Giuliani said the government has an “obligation” to ask questions and raise concerns about the refereeing process, which has come under scrutiny over the use of video review and slow-motion replay to issue the red card. He noted that the Trump administration has invested billions of dollars in federal funds to make the World Cup “not just a safe and secure event, not just an event where we welcome the world, but an event filled with integrity.”
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The Trump administration has been under intense pressure to host a successful World Cup as the United States soon hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
The United States is also expected to host the 2031 Women’s World Cup, although Giuliani said in an interview with the AP that part of fulfilling those responsibilities will be “ensuring that this 2031 Women’s World Cup will be played by women and only women,” a reference to the Trump administration’s staunch opposition to the participation of transgender women in women’s sports.
Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., a self-proclaimed World Cup fan whose state is hosting Sunday’s final, said tournament logistics have gone largely smoothly, save for occasional hiccups on issues such as transportation to games.
But “overall, the joy that people feel, their excitement, overwhelmingly outweighs” any negative aspects, said Kim, who has enthusiastically watched the games with his two young children over the past few weeks.
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The United States has also faced broader tensions with its World Cup hosts Canada and Mexico. Trump announced tough tariffs on both countries upon returning to the White House and decided not to renew the trade pact between the three countries, opening a new period of negotiations.
On Friday, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canada over wildfires that have damaged air quality in parts of the United States, including northern New Jersey, where the World Cup finals are being held. On Friday, he joked that FIFA should soon choose the United States to host the World Cup again and that “we’ll leave Mexico and Canada out this time.”
However, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney plan to attend the final at Trump’s request, a sign that football may be able to overcome some geopolitical tensions.
“I received an invitation from President Trump to attend the World Cup finals on Sunday, and I decided to go because it was a direct invitation from the President of the United States,” Sheinbaum said. “Prime Minister Carney will be there too.”
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Trump, as is customary among heads of state hosting the tournament, will present the trophy to the eventual winner. But he has not publicly revealed whether he has a favorite team.
Spain is a known irritant to Trump due to its reluctance to meet NATO defense spending targets and refusal to allow the United States to attack Iran from its bases. Meanwhile, Argentine President Javier Miley is a favorite of the Trump administration, and the US president is even threatening to cut aid to the country if Miley’s coalition does not win legislative elections.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez plans to attend the game, although Miley, citing superstition, will stay home.
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Kim reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti in Washington contributed to this report.