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Donald Trump snags the FIFA Peace Prize at the group draw—but when it comes to the World Cup trophy, the U.S. president has to settle for a replica
Keystone
102 games of the XXL World Cup have been played, and Donald Trump hasn't attended a single one at the stadium. But the U.S. president will be at the final—and not just in a supporting role.
Donald Trump does end up showing up for the World Cup final featuring Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal after all. With the exception of his involvement in the red-card scandal surrounding U.S. pro Folarin Balogun, the U.S. president has so far stayed completely out of the XXL tournament in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico and has not attended a single game.
Fears that the World Cup would be overshadowed by Trump have not materialized. But in Sunday’s final between Spain and Argentina (9:00 p.m. Swiss time), there’s no getting around the most powerful man in the world—at least not for the new world champion.
That’s because Trump won’t just be standing in a line with FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the awards ceremony, shaking hands and offering congratulations alongside other representatives of world soccer, as has been customary in the past. A little over a month after his 80th birthday, Trump plans to present the golden trophy to the captain of the World Cup-winning team—either Argentina’s Messi or Spain’s Rodri. That’s what Infantino has announced.
The two men’s relationship is viewed with great suspicion. Infantino created a FIFA Peace Prize for Trump, and at the World Cup draw, he presented the not-so-peaceful U.S. president—with much fanfare—with a golden trophy and a medal, which Trump then hung around his own neck. “This is one of the greatest honors of my life,” Trump said at the time.
Infantino is quite fond of presenting Trump with golden trophies. There’s a replica of the World Cup trophy in the White House. And, strictly speaking, the original Club World Cup trophy as well. When the president asked FIFA when they would be picking up the trophy in the Oval Office—the one from the tournament held last summer—he was told, “You can keep it forever. We’ll make a new one.”
The fact that Trump then called Infantino and suggested reviewing the red card given to U.S. forward Balogun was the scandal of this World Cup. No matter how much Trump and Infantino insist that the FIFA president had nothing to do with the decision to suspend the ban on probation,
The World Cup final isn't the first FIFA awards ceremony that Trump has hosted. A year ago, he visited the NFL stadium shared by the New York Giants and the New York Jets. From the stands, he watched the Club World Cup final between Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. Afterward, it was Trump who presented the trophy to England’s captain, Reece James—and remained on stage.
Reece looked at Trump questioningly, the trophy in his hand, and finally raised it triumphantly while Trump stood surrounded by the Chelsea players. It’s therefore not unlikely that the new world champion will also have to share his first victory photos with the U.S. president.
An unforgettable image: Donald Trump and the jubilant Chelsea players.
French 172156 AP
This has upset fans just as much as FIFA’s announcement that Jennifer Hudson will sing the U.S. national anthem before the final. This is an emotional moment at the Super Bowl and is standard practice in U.S. sports, even before regular-season league games, such as in the NBA. At soccer World Cups, however, the host country’s national anthem is not usually part of the program.
Things used to be different in the U.S. Until now, the national anthem was played over the PA system about an hour before kickoff and usually went largely unnoticed. Exceptions were games on July 4, U.S. Independence Day, and games featuring the U.S. national team. Now, Hudson is set to sing the anthem live during the show at the New York-New Jersey Stadium. Trump will likely be standing in the stands and saluting.
U.S. sports fans are already familiar with this scene from the Super Bowl, which Trump watched live at the stadium in New Orleans a year and a half ago—the first sitting U.S. president to do so. Or the NBA Finals, which he attended for Game 3 of the series between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden—incidentally, the only game the Knicks lost on their way to the title in the Finals.
What should have been a moment of unity—the national anthem is universally important to Americans—turned into a situation that illustrated the political division in the United States. For as soon as Trump appeared on the stadium screen, there were at least as many boos as there were cheers for the Republican. And Trump shouldn’t expect too much affection from fans in Spain and Argentina either.
17.07.2026, 05:00
17.07.2026, 07:15
