Infantino confirms Trump will attend World Cup 2026 final to present the trophy

FIFA President Gianni Infantino confirmed on Tuesday that Donald Trump will attend the World Cup 2026 final, where the two men plan to jointly present the trophy to the winning team.

“We will be together with the president enjoying the final and handing the trophy to the winner of course,” Infantino said during an appearance on Fox & Friends.

The announcement comes after Trump has been conspicuously absent from the tournament so far, skipping the US Men’s National Team’s opening match against Paraguay and their subsequent game against Australia. Trump did, however, call the squad before the tournament began, telling them he believed they had “a really good chance of going all the way.”

While Trump has stayed away from World Cup venues, he has attended other major sporting events during the tournament, including Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden — where he was met with loud jeers from the crowd — and UFC 250, held on the White House lawn.

Trump’s World Cup task force chief Andrew Giuliani offered an explanation for the president’s absence in comments to The Telegraph, suggesting it was a deliberate strategy. “He likes a good cliffhanger,” Giuliani said, adding that Trump “likes to leave people watching.”

Infantino has cultivated a notably close relationship with Trump. Earlier this year, the FIFA president awarded Trump the newly created FIFA World Peace award after Trump was passed over for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump’s presence at sporting trophy ceremonies has not been without incident. At the Club World Cup presentation at MetLife Stadium, he remained on stage with Chelsea’s celebrating players after handing over the award, prompting surprise from the squad. “They told me that he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage,” Chelsea defender Reece James said. “I thought that he was going to exit the stage, but he wanted to stay.”