When the final of the FIFA World Cup 2026 was being played on Sunday evening at the MetLife Stadium in New York-New Jersey, US President Donald Trump was present in the VIP box. He was also accompanied by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Spain’s King Felipe VI and Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez.
On the field, Spain won the title by defeating Argentina 1-0 thanks to a goal by Ferran Torres in extra time. During this time, the Argentinian team was playing with one player less (10 players). When the cameras turned towards Trump, there was booing in the stadium, but Trump handed over the shining World Cup trophy to Spain captain Rodri without any emotion. This was the only match of the entire tournament in which Trump participated. The glorious ending that FIFA had envisioned came true. A packed stadium, billions of spectators and the President of the host country on the biggest stage of football.
FIFA GFX 1
Doubts that proved wrong
No one had imagined this success till six weeks ago. This was the first World Cup of 48 teams. Critics feared that due to Trump’s immigration policy, stadiums would remain empty and politics would dominate sports.
- Media outlets like ‘The New York Times’ and ‘MS NOW’ had written that Trump has spoiled the fun of the World Cup.
- Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter had advised fans to watch TV at home due to security reasons.
- Due to travel restrictions imposed by the Trump administration, teams from Iran and Haiti remained out of the tournament despite qualifying and there was a delay in getting visas for the families of many players.
But when the tournament started, there were no immigration raids, no seats remained vacant and no major protests.
Record breaking viewers and TV ratings
According to official FIFA figures, a total of 68,10,966 spectators watched the matches in the stadium in 104 matches. This is more than the total audience of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups combined.
- Stadiums remained filled to 99.7% of their capacity. On one day in June, more than 4,26,000 spectators reached the grounds.
- An average of 50 lakh viewers tuned in during the group stage on Fox. The opening match between America and Paraguay was watched by 18 million people on Fox and 95 million people on Telemundo.
- At the same time, the semi-final between Argentina and England was watched by 15 million viewers, which is the highest in American history.
According to Professor Simon Chadwick of Melion Business School, the Men’s World Cup is a cash cow for FIFA. Women’s World Cup and Club World Cup are run with its earnings.
The thrill of the field was no less
The level of play in the tournament was also excellent.
- Till the quarter-finals, 2.94 goals were scored per match, which is the highest since 1970 (2.97). There were 11 comeback wins in the tournament, breaking the record set in 2014 (10 wins).
- Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland – all three scored 7 or more goals. For the first time in history, three players scored 7+ goals in the same World Cup.
- Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper Josimar Vojinha became a hero overnight, who did not allow Spain to score a goal. Norway knocked out five-time champions Brazil and Erling Haaland’s Viking celebration took social media by storm. Scotland fans increased the sales of local beer by 50% in the city of Boston.
Trump disappeared, still remained in profit
Trump had made himself its face before the tournament. But when the matches started, he remained completely missing from the group stage matches. His absence worked in his favor. There was no political controversy or opposition. Even his critics like Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, Josh Shapiro and Mickey Sherrill came to watch the match.
Infantino and Balogun controversy
Trump escaped unscathed in this entire incident, but FIFA President Gianni Infantino got embroiled in controversies. Europe did not like FIFA giving the peace prize to Trump and opening FIFA office in Trump Tower. The biggest controversy took place on 1 July. American forward ‘Folarin Balogun’ got red card in America vs Bosnia match. Trump himself asked Infantino to review it. FIFA withdrew the red card four days later (for the first time since 1962).
Belgian and European officials sharply criticized it. The biggest irony in this was that Brooklyn-born Balogun was in the American team because of the same birthright citizenship that Trump wanted to eliminate. Due to this decision and policies, the German Football Federation has refused to support Infantino’s re-election (March 2026). However, due to the rain of money his position is still safe. In the end, the tournament ended in such a way that Infantino was facing the questions of controversy and Trump was taking all the credit and distributing the trophy.
Also read: Spain defeats Argentina in FIFA WC, this victory is a shock for US-Israel
Leave a Reply