Trump to Attend Argentina Vs. Spain World Cup Final & Present Trophy, Social Media Upset At Tradition

President Donald Trump will attend Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final between Spain and defending champion Argentina at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., capping weeks of speculation about whether he would show his orange-tinted face at the tournament’s biggest match.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Thursday that Trump will first attend a FIFA reception Friday at Trump Tower in Manhattan before heading to the championship game on Sunday. FIFA President Gianni Infantino previously said the two would present the World Cup trophy to the winning team following the final.

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

Infantino confirmed the joint presentation is still in play to Blue Sport earlier this week.

“Hopefully we’ll present the trophy together in the final,” he said. “That’s always been the plan, and that’s how it’s always been done in the past—the president of the country where the final is held presents the trophy together with the FIFA president.”

While world leaders have frequently attended World Cup finals—including the tournaments in Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022—Trump has not attended any of the tournament’s first 102 matches. Vice President JD Vance has also been absent from the competition, though several cabinet members attended U.S. men’s national team games during the tournament, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Leavitt claimed the event was “the most-watched, most secure and most successful World Cup in American history.” This statement might be true considering the only other time the United States hosted the World Cup was in 1994. 

Trump has made appearances at several marquee sporting events during his presidency, including the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500, the U.S. Open, UFC events and the NBA Finals. He also attended last summer’s FIFA Club World Cup final at MetLife Stadium, where he joined Chelsea on stage during the trophy presentation.

His relationship with FIFA has grown increasingly visible over the past year. Infantino joined Trump to announce the World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center and presented him with FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize.

Trump also publicly lobbied FIFA over U.S. striker Folarin Balogun’s red-card suspension earlier in the tournament. Although Infantino said he did not intervene, FIFA ultimately lifted the one-match ban, allowing Balogun to play in the Americans’ Round of 16 loss to Belgium.

See social media’s reaction to Trump involving himself in the World Cup below.