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As the first matches prepared to begin, the administration continued to find itself under global scrutiny for its visa decisions, such as denying entry to a referee from Somalia who had been decorated for his management.
President Donald Trump listens as FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks at a reception at Trump Tower in New York, Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin) AP
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — President Donald Trump He delivered the World Cup to Spain, winners of Sunday’s final against Argentina. But for him, the real victor in soccer’s premier tournament may be the United States.
“It turns out we are a soccer nation, and I think we will remain that way,” Trump said Friday during a FIFA reception at Trump Tower in New York City. “It really brought the world together.”
For the White House, Sunday’s game was the culmination of more than a year of facing a series of logistical challenges alongside co-hosts Canada and Mexico in what could be the biggest World Cup in history. It had to balance the Trump administration’s tough immigration policies that barred fans from some World Cup-eligible countries from entering the United States.
Spain won the tournament by defeating defending champion Argentina 1-0.
After Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino presented them with the trophy, Trump stood alongside the team as they jumped up and down and shot golden confetti from a cannon.
Later, speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Trump said he was proud of the country’s success as a host, adding that “all around the world, people came and they love our country.” He described the final as a close and exciting match, and praised Spain’s dominant performance.
He reached the final on Sunday aboard the presidential helicopter Marine One. Before the match even started, Trump was already proposing another American bid to host the tournament, sending a push to Infantino.
“Gianni I had a great idea: You should do two states. We announce another one next time, and then he announces another one after that. That will relieve some of the anger and the shock,” Trump told Fox Sports. “Based on the numbers, we will order it again immediately,” he added.
The president refused to choose a team for the final match, but said that it would be difficult to beat Argentine star Lionel Messi. Trump got a closer look at the World Cup trophy when it was presented to him at his seat during halftime. Video footage showed the president smiling and patting the golden cup raised in front of him. Also in the box were First Lady Melania Trump, Infantino and others.
The White House has faced warnings from human rights groups, and the tournament has faced backlash over high ticket prices. For months, Trump had been mulling the idea of moving matches outside cities that did not cooperate with federal immigration authorities, and in the weeks before the tournament began, local authorities sparred with FIFA over high transportation costs, further exacerbating tensions.
As the first matches prepared to begin, the administration continued to find itself under global scrutiny for its visa decisions, such as denying entry to a referee from Somalia who had been decorated for his management. Pressure mounted after Trump launched a war on Iran, leaving the administration in conflict with an Iranian team whose fans and some supporting personnel were banned from entering the United States and whose eventual headquarters were just across the border in Tijuana.
But the broader story of the World Cup eventually changed. Social media has been flooded with tales of soccer fans from around the world enjoying American cuisine and traditions, from beer to ranch dressing. Some concerns about the Trump administration that had been circulated previously, such as the threat of immigration enforcement raids near the games, never materialized.
“One of the things we talked about previously is that if we talk about what happened on the field, then we did our job,” Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But I think it’s even better than that. We’re not just talking about amazing athletic accomplishments on the field, but we’re talking about all these amazing, amazing cultural moments.”
However, Trump sparked controversy with a phone call he made to Infantino earlier this month in which he asked for a review of the controversial referee’s call in Team USA’s match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The referee showed a red card to American star Folarin Balogun, which means that he will not be able to play in the next match against Belgium.
Trump says he simply asked Infantino, who has cozyed up to the US president and faced backlash for doing so, to review the call. FIFA then retracted the call, with Trump telling Infantino at a FIFA reception on Friday that “you made another great decision, if you think about it,” because it allowed the United States to keep a key player on the field despite the team losing the match to Belgium 4-1.
Giuliani said management had a “duty” to ask questions and raise concerns about the officiating process, which has drawn scrutiny due to the use of video review and slow-motion replay to issue the red card. He noted that the Trump administration has invested billions of dollars in federal funding to ensure that the World Cup is “not just a safe and secure event, not just where we welcome the world, but an event full of integrity.”
The Trump administration has been under great pressure to make the World Cup a success because the United States will soon host the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
The United States is also largely expected to earn the right to host the 2031 Women’s World Cup, though Giuliani said in an interview with the AP that part of landing hosting duties would be “making sure, in fact, that only women and women will play in the 2031 Women’s World Cup” — a reference to the Trump administration’s fierce opposition to transgender women’s participation in women’s sports.
The United States has faced broader tensions with its World Cup co-hosts Canada and Mexico. Trump announced strict tariffs on the two countries during his return to the White House, and chose not to renew the trade agreement between the three countries, starting a new period of negotiations.
On Friday, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canada over the wildfires, which have damaged air quality in parts of the United States, including northern New Jersey where the World Cup final is being held. He joked on Friday that FIFA should choose the United States to host the World Cup again soon, and “this time, we’ll leave Mexico and Canada off the list.”
However, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attended the final at Trump’s request, a sign that soccer can overcome some geopolitical tensions.
Trump, as is generally customary for heads of state hosting the tournament, presented the trophy to the eventual winner. But he did not know in advance whether he had a favorite team or not.
Spain is known to be a source of irritation for Trump, due to its reticence to meet NATO defense spending targets and its refusal to allow the United States to launch strikes against Iran from its bases. Meanwhile, Argentine President Javier Miley is a favorite of the Trump administration, with the US president going so far as to threaten to cut off aid to the country if Miley’s coalition does not win the legislative elections.
King Felipe VI of Spain, Queen Letizia and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez attended the match, although Miley stayed home due to superstition.
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Kim reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti in Washington contributed to this report.
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