Donald Trump will be at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday to witness the 2026 World Cup final between Argentina and Spain, as confirmed by the White House spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt.
The president will also participate in the trophy presentation ceremony for the champion team alongside the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, who anticipated last month that both would "enjoy the final and present the trophy to the winner, together."
The presidential agenda kicks off this Friday with a FIFA reception at the Trump Tower in Manhattan, from where Trump will travel the next day to New Jersey for the match.
Spain or Argentina? The White House holds the secret
The question that generates the most interest is which of the two teams will have the president's support. Leavitt did not clarify the uncertainty: he promised that Trump will have "a funny response" when journalists ask him directly.
The background points in two directions.
In December 2025, during the World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Trump lavished praise on the Spanish national team: “I am a big fan of Spain. I love the country. They are a great team, they always have been. They have a very good chance. Good luck, Spain, good luck.”
However, his close political alliance with Argentine President Javier Milei complicates any predictions.
In that same event, Trump declared: "I love Argentina, its president is doing a very good job. He is making Argentina great again, MAGA."
Milei, for his part, will not travel to New Jersey.
The Argentine president explained that he will watch the match from the cinema in the presidential residence of Olivos, in Buenos Aires, purely out of superstition.
"Not at all. I watch the games from Olivos like I did on the first day. It’s a ritual; I watch the games in the cinema in Olivos with my sister," he said
The most tense box in the history of a World Cup
Milei's absence does not lessen the diplomatic tension from the box.
Pedro Sánchez will also be at the stadium, according to sources from Moncloa, and will share space with Trump just ten days after their meeting at the NATO summit in Ankara, where the U.S. president criticized Spain for its defense spending and urged to cut trade with the country.
Hours after that clash, a private conversation about football softened the atmosphere. Sánchez described the exchange as "everything has been kindness and good words."
Alongside Sánchez and Trump, the stand will host the entire Spanish royal family: King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, Princess Leonor, and Infanta Sofía.
The negotiations to determine who sits where are proving to be extraordinarily complex.
Marina Fernández, Director of Communications at the International School of Protocol and Events, summarized it clearly: "The photo from the stage is a photo of power at this moment. Sunday's seating arrangements will reflect that current power."
The same expert described the conversations among the FIFA teams, the White House, the Royal Palace, and La Moncloa as “an absolutely lopsided negotiation”.
Trump reaches the final without having seen any matches
Trump's presence is striking because the president did not attend any of the 102 previous matches of the tournament, although members of his cabinet did attend games of the U.S. team.
His most controversial intervention was the phone call to Infantino to request a review of the red card given to the forward Folarin Balogun.
FIFA revoked the sanction in an unprecedented decision, but the United States was eliminated the next day by Belgium.
Trump already has experience in trophy presentation ceremonies at MetLife Stadium.
In the final of the 2025 Club World Cup, also held at that stadium, the president stood on the podium alongside Chelsea's captain, Reece James, as he raised the trophy.
The final between Argentina and Spain is historic: never before have both teams faced each other in a World Cup final.
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