"The greatest World Cup of all time." That's not a marketing slogan — that's FIFA president Gianni Infantino, speaking at a reception at Trump Tower in New York on Friday alongside President Donald Trump, two days before Argentina and Spain settle the whole thing on Sunday.
The numbers back him up. Seven million fans through stadium turnstiles. Tens of millions more filling city centres across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Billions watching on television. Whatever your politics, the tournament delivered on the pitch and off it — and it converted a country that has historically treated soccer as background noise.
America fell for it
That last part is arguably the most significant legacy of this tournament. The U.S. has hosted major football before — the 1994 World Cup helped plant the seeds for MLS — but nothing quite like this. Infantino framed it in terms that resonated beyond football: "The American dream, Mr. President, came to reality. We united the world."
Trump leaned into the moment too, describing it as "far beyond a sporting event" and calling it "a true honor for Americans to share our magnificent country with the world." He also floated — jokingly — that the U.S. should host the next one solo, cutting Canada and Mexico out of the arrangement. He followed that up with a quip about co-hosting with China, before noting the flights between games would be a problem. Given China's current standing in world football, the dig landed on more than one level.
Sunday's final
Trump is scheduled to attend the final and will present the trophy alongside Infantino. Argentina, defending champions, against Spain, who have been building toward something like this for years under their current crop. Two of the heaviest-supported nations in the world, in a country that just spent a month falling in love with the sport.
If you're looking at the match markets, Spain's technical structure and squad depth have made them slight favourites in most books — but Argentina don't lose finals quietly. Whoever lifts the trophy on Sunday does it in front of a president and a billion-strong audience. Quite the stage for the game's crowning moment.
