NEW YORK — President Trump is preparing to hand the World Cup trophy to whichever team wins Sunday’s championship match between Argentina and Spain. But as far as Trump is concerned, the United States may already be the biggest winner of soccer’s most prestigious tournament.
“It turned out we were a soccer country, and I think it’s going to remain,” Trump said Friday at a FIFA reception held at Trump Tower in New York City. “This has really brought the world together.”
For the White House, Sunday’s final represents the end of more than a year of working through an enormous list of logistical hurdles alongside co-hosts Canada and Mexico for what has become the largest World Cup ever staged. The administration had to manage its own strict immigration policies, which prevented fans from certain World Cup qualifying nations from entering the country.
Human rights organizations raised alarms ahead of the tournament, and the event also drew criticism over steep ticket prices. For months, Trump floated the possibility of relocating games away from cities that refused to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. In the weeks leading up to the opening matches, local officials clashed with FIFA over the cost of public transit to venues, adding to the tension.
Even as the first games kicked off, the administration remained under international scrutiny for its visa decisions — including the denial of entry to a referee from Somalia who had earned widespread praise for his work on the field. Pressure mounted further after Trump initiated military action against Iran, leaving the administration to deal with the situation of an Iranian team whose fans and some staff members were barred from the U.S. That team ultimately set up its base of operations across the border in Tijuana.
Over time, however, the larger narrative surrounding the World Cup began to change. Social media filled up with stories of international soccer fans discovering and enjoying American food and culture, from beer to ranch dressing. Some of the fears that had circulated before the tournament — such as immigration enforcement actions near game venues — never came to pass.
“One of the things that we talked about beforehand was, if we’re talking about what happened on the pitch, then we’ve done our job,” said Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, in an interview with The Associated Press. “But I think it’s even better than that. We’re not just talking about only the incredible, athletic feats on the pitch, but we’re talking about all these incredible, incredible cultural moments.”
Trump did generate controversy when he called FIFA chief Gianni Infantino earlier this month to request a review of a disputed officiating decision during Team USA’s match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The referee had issued a red card to U.S. star forward Folarin Balogun, which would have kept him out of the team’s next game against Belgium.
Trump said he simply asked Infantino — who has developed a close relationship with the U.S. president and faced criticism for doing so — to take another look at the call. FIFA ultimately overturned the red card. At Friday’s reception, Trump told Infantino that “you made another great decision, if you think about it,” since it allowed the U.S. to keep a key player available, even though the team went on to lose to Belgium 4-1.
Giuliani argued the administration had a “duty” to raise questions about the officiating process, which had drawn scrutiny due to the use of video review and slow-motion replay to issue the red card. He pointed out that the Trump administration committed billions in federal dollars to make the World Cup “not just a safe and secure event, not just where we welcomed the world, but an event that was filled with integrity.”
The administration faced significant pressure to deliver a successful tournament, in part because the U.S. is scheduled to host the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
The U.S. is also widely expected to be awarded hosting rights for the 2031 Women’s World Cup. Giuliani noted in his AP interview that securing those rights will include “ensuring that, in fact, women and only women will play in that 2031 Women’s World Cup” — a reference to the Trump administration’s strong opposition to transgender women competing in women’s sports.
Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., a self-described World Cup superfan whose home state is hosting Sunday’s final, said the logistics of the tournament have gone mostly well, with only occasional issues such as transit to the games.
But “overall, just the joy that people have, the excitement that they have, has dramatically outweighed” any negatives, Kim said. He noted he has been watching the matches enthusiastically with his two young sons over the past several weeks.
Tensions also surfaced between the U.S. and its co-hosts. Trump imposed heavy tariffs on both Canada and Mexico after returning to the White House, and he has opted not to renew the trade agreement shared by the three nations, setting the stage for a new round of negotiations.
On Friday, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canada over wildfires that have degraded air quality in parts of the U.S., including northern New Jersey, where the World Cup final is taking place. He also joked that FIFA should pick the U.S. to host the tournament again soon, and “this time, we’ll leave Mexico and Canada out.”
Despite the friction, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are both expected to attend Sunday’s final at Trump’s personal invitation — a sign that the sport can help bridge geopolitical divides.
“I received an invitation from President Trump to attend the World Cup final on Sunday, and I decided to go because it’s a direct invitation from the President of the United States,” Sheinbaum said. “Prime Minister Carney will also be there.”
As is customary for the head of state of the host nation, Trump will present the trophy to the winning team. He has not publicly indicated which side he is rooting for.
Spain has been a source of friction for the Trump administration, given its reluctance to meet NATO defense spending targets and its refusal to allow U.S. strikes against Iran to be launched from its military bases. On the other hand, Argentine President Javier Milei is considered a close ally of Trump, with the U.S. president having gone so far as to threaten to cut aid to Argentina if Milei’s political coalition failed to win legislative elections.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez plans to be at the game. Milei, however, says he will stay home — citing superstition.
