By Joke Kujenya
FOOTBALL AND political leaders will converge at the FIFA World Cup 2026 final on Sunday as the White House confirmed President Donald Trump will attend the championship match between Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the White House said the final will be the only World Cup match Trump attends.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the tournament as the most watched and secure in history.
Trump also called it “the most successful sporting event maybe in the history of the world” during a FIFA reception with FIFA president Gianni Infantino at Trump Tower in New York on Friday.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will also attend the final following an invitation from Trump.
Sheinbaum said she received a direct invitation from the US president and confirmed she would travel to America, adding that she and Carney would both be present.
The match between Spain and Argentina kicks off at 3.00pm and is expected to be watched by more than 80,000 spectators inside the stadium.
Trump is expected to present the trophy alongside Infantino to the winners after the final.
It will be the first World Cup fixture he has attended.
Less than two weeks earlier, Trump phoned Infantino to ask FIFA to suspend a red card issued to US striker Folarin Balogun so he could play in a last 16 match against Belgium.
Speaking at the FIFA reception on Friday, Trump said the tournament had helped further popularise football in the US.
“This has been the most successful sporting event maybe in the history of the world. It’s been amazing,” Trump said.
“It turned out we were a soccer country, and I think it’s going to remain,” he added, saying his son Barron was a huge fan of the game.
First Lady Melania Trump and her father Viktor Knavs are also due to attend the final with the US president.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Spain’s royal family are expected at the match. Sheinbaum and Carney will also attend as leaders of the tournament’s co-hosts.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the three leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico last met at the World Cup draw in Washington in December.
Heavy security will surround the final, with a no-fly zone in force around the stadium as Trump travels from his New Jersey golf club.
Trump has hosted Infantino on multiple occasions since returning to the Oval Office in January 2025.
During Friday’s reception, Trump said, “I was supposed to not be here now, I was president for eight years… they rigged the election and what did I get? I got the World Cup, the Olympics.”
He also said, “This time we’ll leave Mexico and Canada out,” while joking about a future World Cup hosted by the United States and China.
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