By Rajwa Quasim
The White House confirmed that President Donald Trump will attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and Spain on July 19 at the New York-New Jersey stadium.
The match kicks off at 3 p.m. ET and will see the reigning champions face the kings of Europe in this blockbuster showdown at New York New Jersey Stadium holding its last 2026 World Cup match after five group games and two knockout ties.
“We look forward to the final match on Sunday, and I know the president looks forward to attending,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a press conference. She further added, “his attendance will cap what has been the most watched, most secure, and most successful World Cup in American history.”
This will mark Trump’s first-in appearance at the tournament. He has not attended any earlier matches since the international competition began, marking Sunday’s final his first game attendance in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
READ: Argentina stuns England with late comeback to reach FIFA World Cup 2026 final against Spain (July 16, 2026)
According to media reports, Trump will be joined by FIFA President Gianni Infantino along with other political, sporting and tournament officials. Infantino said Trump will join him in handing the World Cup trophy to the winners after Sunday ‘s final.
Reiterating the plans in an interview with Swiss outlet Blue Sport this week, Infantino said: “Yes, hopefully we’ll present the trophy together in the final.”
Trump will also attend a reception for football’s world governing body FIFA at Trump Tower in New York on Friday.
However, Argentina President Javier Milei will not be attending the World Cup Final. Despite being a close ally of Trump and having been expected to join, Milei confirmed on Thursday that he would skip the event and watch from Olivos – the presidential residence of Argentina, Milei told Buenos Aires radio station El Observador.
Milei’s decision is rooted in superstition, known in Argentina and Latin America, widely known as “cábalas” — a ritual and habit fans and officials believe bring good luck to their team. Milei reportedly plans to stick to the same viewing routine and even wear he same jacket he wore during Argentina’s earlier matches, hoping to avoid disrupting the teams fortune that has carried them back to a second consecutive final.
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“Since it’s cold and I don’t turn on the heat, I wear an oil company-branded jacket. The day of the Switzerland game, it made me really hot. I took it off, and they scored a goal against us. I put it back on and never took it off again,” Milei said.
Even though Trump did not attend any FIFA World Cup match in 2026, he has been the center of attraction in various controversies related to the competition. Earlier this month, he had asked FIFA’s Infantino to review a decision to hand a red card to star U.S. striker Folarin Balogun during a game against Bosnia. FIFA lifted Balogun’s one match suspension in time for the U.S.’s match against Belgium but it did little help. The host team was thrashed at 4-1.
Previously, Iran had also accused the U.S., co-host of the World Cup of “discriminatory treatment” after Washington denied visas to roughly 15 members of the Iranian national team’s official delegation traveling for the tournament, The Guardian reported.
2026 FIFA World Cup’s closing ceremony will feature Post Malone, Robbie Williams and IShowSpeed, while award-winning artist Jennifer Hudson will deliver a special pre-final rendition of the USA national anthem.