President Donald Trump on July 19 presented the World Cup trophy to Spain following the team's victory in the World Cup at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The crowd cheered as Trump took the field with FIFA President Gianni Infantino after Spain’s 1–0 win against Argentina. Trump presented medals to the Spanish team members before Trump and Infantino presented the trophy to Rodrigo Hernández Cascante, known simply as “Rodri,” Spain's captain. Trump was at the stadium to watch the highly anticipated FIFA World Cup 2026 final between Spain and Argentina, which had an estimated attendance of 80,000 fans.
Ahead of the game, the president said that he asked Infantino to let the United States host the next FIFA World Cup.
“I had a great idea for Gianni, I said, ‘You have to do two countries, so announce us again next time, and announce another country after that,’” Trump said during a pre-show interview on July 19 on Fox One.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup set a lengthy list of records. More than 6.6 million fans filled 16 stadiums across North America, far surpassing the previous record of 3.6 million in the 1994 FIFA World Cup USA and exceeding the combined attendance of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
During the tournament, stadiums were at 99.7 percent capacity, an all-time record.
Trump said the United States will be requesting to host it again.
Infantino called it the “most incredible event in human history.”
Trump wouldn’t say exactly which team he was rooting for in the final, but he did say “it’s hard to bet against [Lionel] Messi,” the Argentinian forward who scored eight goals in the tournament.
Argentina was hoping for back-to-back championships after winning the World Cup in 2022. It also won the tournament in 1986 and 1978.
Spain had won the World Cup only once before its July 19 victory, in 2010.
The photo, taken more than two decades ago, showed a younger Messi holding and bathing his now-opponent, Spain’s Lamine Yamal, when he was just a baby.
