White House confirms U.S. President Trump will attend World Cup final

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Washington. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP)

U.S. President Donald Trump will attend the World Cup final on Sunday between Spain and defending champion Argentina, the White House confirmed on Thursday.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president would be in New York City on Friday to attend a FIFA reception at Trump Tower in Manhattan, then be at Sunday’s game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

The comments confirmed Trump’s expected participation after FIFA president Gianni Infantino said last month that he would present the trophy.

“We will be together with the president, enjoying the final and handing the trophy to the winner, of course,” Infantino said on June 23 on “Fox & Friends.”

Heads of state have a history of attending the finals and some have been part of the trophy presentation, including in Qatar in 2022 and Russia in 2018.

Neither Trump nor vice president JD Vance have previously attended any of the 102 games played thus far at this World Cup, which is co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Members of the cabinet have appeared at games featuring the U.S. men’s national team in California and Seattle.

“His attendance will cap what has been the most-watched, most secure and most successful World Cup in American history,” Leavitt said.

The United States hosted the Men’s World Cup one previous time, in 1994.

Trump has attended multiple high-profile sporting events, including the Super Bowl, U.S. Open tennis tournament, Ryder Cup and Daytona 500, during his two presidential terms. In November 2024, he was present for a UFC event at Madison Square Garden. Last month, he attended UFC Freedom 250 on the White House South Lawn, as well as Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden.

Last summer, he was at the same venue as Sunday’s match for the Club World Cup Final and shared the stage as English club Chelsea raised the trophy.

Infantino partnered with Trump to announce the World Cup draw would be last December at the Kennedy Center in Washington. He also presented Trump with the first FIFA Peace Prize.

Trump acknowledged calling Infantino to review the red-card suspension of United States striker Folarin Balogun for a foul in the 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1.

Balogun was automatically banned for the following round of 16 match against Belgium on July 6. Infantino acknowledged receiving a call from Trump, who publicly lobbied for Balogun to play, but the FIFA president said he did not interfere with the decision-making process.

FIFA suspended the one-game ban on July 5, enabling Balogun to play amid the controversy. Belgium eliminated the U.S. squad 4-1.

--Field Level Media