Donald Trump to attend World Cup final between Spain and Argentina in New Jersey | Today’s news
US President Donald Trump will attend Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and defending champions Argentina at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the White House confirmed on Thursday. Reuters.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will first travel to New York on Friday to attend a FIFA reception at Trump Tower in Manhattan before heading to Sunday’s finals.
The White House confirmed Trump’s participation in the World Cup finals
The announcement confirms earlier remarks by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who said last month that Trump would be present at the trophy presentation after the championship game.
“We will be together with the president, we will enjoy the final and, of course, we will present the trophy to the winner,” Infantino said during an appearance on Fox & Friends on June 23.
The presence of heads of state at The World Cup final is nothing unusual. Political leaders have attended previous finals, including those held in Qatar in 2022 and Russia in 2018, and some attended post-match trophy presentations.
Although the tournament is co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, neither Trump nor Vice President JD Vance have attended any of the 102 games played so far. However, several members of the U.S. cabinet attended the U.S. Men’s National Team matches in California and Seattle.
Leavitt described Trump’s appearance at the final as a fitting conclusion to what she called “the most watched, safest and most successful World Cup in American history.” The United States previously hosted the 1994 FIFA Men’s World Cup.
Trump has made several appearances at major sporting events during both of his terms as president. He has attended the Super Bowl, the US Open tennis tournament, the Ryder Cup, the Daytona 500 and many UFC events. Last month, he was in attendance at UFC Freedom 250 on the White House South Lawn and also attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden.
He was also at last year’s Club World Cup final, held at the same stadium that will host Sunday’s World Cup final, where he joined the celebrations as English club Chelsea lifted the trophy.
Trump and Infantino have maintained a close public engagement in recent months. Last December, the FIFA president joined Trump at the Kennedy Center in Washington to announce the World Cup draw and later present him with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize.
The two were also in contact during the tournament after American striker Folarin Balogun was red-carded in the group stage win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Trump admitted he called Infantino to discuss Balogun’s automatic one-game suspension.
While Infantino confirmed receiving the call, he maintained that he did not intervene in FIFA’s disciplinary proceedings. FIFA later suspended the one-match ban, allowing Balogun to feature in the round of 16 match against Belgium. However, the United States were eliminated after a 4-1 defeat, Reuters reported.
