2026 World Cup, Spain Wins: Donald Trump’s Presence Causes Some Embarrassment

Spain is the world champion, after winning the 2026 World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New York, where Argentina lost 1-0 in extra time. One of the most anticipated moments of the evening, however, was the presentation of the World Cup trophy, which, as expected, was entrusted to Donald Trump. There were a few awkward moments, as the U.S. president lingered to shake hands with some of the Spanish players while captain Rodri was already clutching the trophy in his arms—though he hadn’t yet raised it to the sky.

The moment of triumph came a few seconds later, with Donald Trump still standing quite close to the group of new world champions, who, incidentally, gave the impression of celebrating their victory while ignoring him as much as possible. There were big smiles, however, for Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, who seemed to want to pull Trump away from the photo with the Spanish team by tugging him by the arm. This was a detail that Alessandro Antinelli also pointed out live on ‘Rai1,’ noting how Rodri and his teammates seemed eager to celebrate together a moment they would share for the rest of their lives with friends and family. With no “outsiders” present.

The final was decided in the 106th minute of the first extra-time period by Ferran Torres, who blasted the ball under the crossbar with his left foot off a perfect assist from Nico Williams. That goal gave Spain its second World Cup title in history, following the one won in 2010 in South Africa—curiously, with the same score as back then: 1-0 in extra time against Argentina. The Albiceleste finished the match with only ten men, following Enzo Fernández’s red card in the 94th minute, and missed out on a second consecutive title after winning the 2022 World Cup.

The evening was also marked by a major refereeing controversy. In the 5th minute of the first extra-time period, Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic disallowed a goal by Nico Williams for an alleged foul by Mikel Merino on Otamendi in the preceding play, without, however, consulting the VAR—handled by German Bastian Dankert, assisted by Nicolas Gallo and Khamis Al Marri — in an incident that was as questionable as it was decisive. The decision immediately sparked protests from the Spanish bench and across social media. This isn’t the first time Vincic has crossed paths with Argentina’s fate in a World Cup final stage: he was the referee for the Albiceleste’s shocking 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in their opening match of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

From a strictly sporting perspective, Argentina’s performance left much to be desired. In regulation time, Lionel Scaloni’s Selección recorded a statistic as telling as it was unprecedented: 0 total shots, 0 shots on goal. This performance led Daniele Adani to make a categorical assessment live on ‘Rai1’ at exactly the 90-minute mark: “It’s a bad game, and Argentina is making it even worse. They never, ever got back into it.” Even Lionel Messi, in what is likely his final World Cup appearance, struggled immensely to get into the game, touching the ball for the first time only in the 16th minute, when he was fouled by Alex Baena. It was a lackluster evening that also had a significant impact on the race for the top of the scoring charts: Kylian Mbappé, who had already finished his World Cup with 10 goals by the time France lost the third-place match to England, thus secured his status as the tournament’s top scorer, two goals ahead of Argentina’s No. 10. Before leaving the United States, the Real Madrid star had predicted to ‘Fox Sports’: “Leo always scores; he’ll definitely score against Spain.” His prediction went unfulfilled.

The political context surrounding the awards ceremony was, in fact, fraught with tension even before kickoff. Trump had welcomed the Spanish royal family—King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia—along with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, with whom relations are far from smooth: just eleven days ago, at the NATO summit in Ankara, the U.S. president had called Spain “a lost cause” and “a terrible partner in NATO.” The prospect of having to present the World Cup trophy to the Spanish national team had already sparked mockery from his detractors in the United States, with former Senior Director of the National Security Council Thomas J. Wright commenting on X: “It’ll be pretty funny if Trump has to present the World Cup trophy to Spain on Sunday.” Argentine President Javier Milei, however, was absent; according to a live report by Rai, his absence was attributed to mere superstition.

Among those present in the stands was Álvaro Morata, who, despite no longer being part of the national team, did not want to miss the event. Before the final, it was Rodri himself who paid him a touching tribute: “If we’re here today, a significant part of our journey is thanks to him.” Those words moved the Como forward, who admitted to AS reporters: “When they say things like that about me, it fills me with pride. I’m really happy, but I don’t want to cry here right now.”