Trump to join Infantino in World Cup final trophy presentation

Donald Trump will join FIFA president Gianni Infantino on the podium when the World Cup final is played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and the two men will present the trophy to the winning team together. Infantino said Trump will attend the July 19, 2026 final, making it the only World Cup 2026 match he has publicly confirmed for the president so far.

The plan gives the world’s biggest football match a distinctly political edge. FIFA trophy ceremonies are usually handled by federation officials and a small circle of dignitaries, but this arrangement would place a sitting U.S. president directly inside the on-pitch celebration, where the sport’s most watched images are made. In a tournament already shaped by national branding, security theater and the host nation’s global image, Trump’s presence extends the final beyond sport and into soft power, with the United States projecting itself through the spectacle of the handover itself.

Infantino has already appeared alongside Trump at FIFA events, including the December 5, 2025 World Cup draw in Washington, D.C., where he presented Trump with FIFA’s newly created Peace Prize. Reports around the final say FIFA has no objection to Trump handing the trophy directly to the winning captain and possibly remaining on the podium for the celebration, an unusual allowance for a figure with no formal role in the governing body’s ceremonies.

The comparison most often cited is historical rather than current. ESPN noted that King Juan Carlos of Spain presented the trophy to Italy captain Dino Zoff in 1982, and Queen Elizabeth II handed the 1966 World Cup trophy to England captain Bobby Moore. Those moments were rare exceptions, however, and Trump’s expected role would go further by making the U.S. president part of the live postmatch tableau rather than a detached presenter in the stands or royal box.

The relationship between Trump and Infantino has become one of the tournament’s defining political subplots. Trump also took part in a FIFA Club World Cup trophy presentation earlier in 2025, reinforcing the sense that FIFA sees value in binding its biggest events to the symbolism of presidential power. For Trump, the final offers a global platform at home; for FIFA, it is another reminder that the World Cup is as much about influence and optics as it is about football.