Donald Trump will be on the pitch at MetLife Stadium on July 19 to hand the World Cup trophy to whoever lifts it — confirmed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Tuesday morning.
"We will be together with the president enjoying the final and handing the trophy to the winner, of course," Infantino said during a Fox & Friends appearance. The "of course" is doing a lot of work there. These two have been inseparable since Infantino invented FIFA's first-ever "Peace Prize" and handed it to Trump last year, pledging "my support, on the support of the entire... soccer community to help you make peace and make the world prosper." Diplomacy through football. Or something like that.
The political theatre comes with real stakes
Whatever you make of the optics, the World Cup Final landing in the New York Giants and Jets' backyard is a genuinely historic moment. North American soil hasn't hosted the tournament in over 30 years, and having a sitting U.S. president present the trophy is the kind of image FIFA has been engineering since they awarded the hosting rights.
Infantino has cultivated Trump aggressively and openly, and the relationship has clearly paid off in terms of access and visibility. Whether it's good for football's credibility as an independent institution is a separate conversation.
The USMNT is making it interesting
Meanwhile, the actual football is providing its own storyline. The U.S. men's national team has won both of its group stage matches — their best World Cup start in recent memory — and already has a knockout round spot secured. If they keep progressing, the prospect of a host nation in the final, with a president waiting on the sideline to hand over the trophy, becomes less hypothetical by the week.
That scenario would send U.S. odds into genuinely interesting territory, and the sportsbooks are paying attention.
The knockout stage begins next week. Trump's already booked his spot for July 19.
