- President Donald Trump is set to attend the World Cup final between Argentina and Spain on Sunday and will present the trophy to the winning team alongside his friend and Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
- Trump hasn’t attended any of the 102 World Cup matches so far despite the United States being a co-host alongside Canada and Mexico.
- “We look forward to the final match on Sunday, and I know the president looks forward to attending,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday. “This is a fitting conclusion to a tournament that showcased America’s ability to host the world on the grandest stage.”
- Trump sparked fury earlier in the tournament by asking Fifa to “review” U.S. striker Folarin Balogun’s one-match suspension before the last-16 match against Belgium. Trump later hailed Fifa for “reversing a great injustice” when the ban was controversially suspended.
- Balogun later said that the intervention created a lot of “difficult noise” and “controversy” in the ensuing match and the U.S. crashed out with a 4-1 defeat.
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