President Trump celebrated the success of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at a reception held on Friday evening, July 18th, 2026, at his Trump Tower in New York City ahead of the final match between Argentina and Spain. During the event, he suggested that the United States should host the World Cup alone next time, stating, “This time we will leave Canada and Mexico out,” in remarks directed to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

Trump also said FIFA should “pick somebody else” to “take some of the anger, hatred and steam out of everyone.”

The 2030 FIFA World Cup is already planned to be hosted jointly by six countries: Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

Additionally, the president referenced his controversial intervention in a match involving U.S. player Folarin Balogun, where he called Infantino to recommend against a red card penalty. This led to Balogun’s suspension being reversed, a move that sparked allegations of misconduct against FIFA. Trump defended the decision, saying, “You know, it was so much better the way it worked out because there’s no controversy. They won the game, and our team had all of its players.”

The 2026 World Cup final between Argentina and Spain was scheduled to take place on Sunday afternoon, July 20th, 2026, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.