Italy’s repechage to the World Cup: Trump’s broadside to FIFA

Just over a month before the 2026 World Cup, another case is breaking out, concerning the disproportionate cost of tickets to attend matches in the rainbow tournament. Several U.S. newspaper investigations have brought to light the drastic increase in the cost of coupons, starting with those for the U.S.’s opening match against Paraguay, scheduled to take place in Los Angeles.

The lowest price available for the match, reports the New York Post, came in at $1,120, an outrageous figure that caught even U.S. President Donald Trump himself by surprise: “I didn’t know that number. I’d certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay them either, honestly,” Trump told the New York Post.

The U.S. president continued in what appeared to be an open criticism of FIFA and his friend Gianni Infantino: “If the people of Queens and Brooklyn and everybody who loves Donald Trump can’t go, I would be disappointed. I would like the people who voted for me to be able to attend the matches.”

Infantino in recent days had defended himself, explaining that “25 percent of the group stage tickets are available for less than $300. We are in the most developed entertainment market in the world, so we have to apply market prices. If we sold the coupons at too low a price, they would be resold at much higher figures.”

The other case that bedevils the World Cup always concerns Iran’s participation: while peace in the Middle East still seems far off, the Zurich meeting between the Iranian federation and FIFA is awaited with apprehension. Italy has been put on alert and is in the running for a replacement, as revealed by Trump’s special envoy Paolo Zampolli.