Donald Trump's starring role in World Cup final is revealed by gleeful FIFA President Gianni Infantino

By ALEX RASKIN, US SPORTS NEWS EDITOR Published: 00:32, 24 June 2026 | Updated: 00:36, 24 June 2026 Donald Trump will be celebrating a World Cup victory on July 19 in New Jersey whether or not it's the United States that wins the ongoing tournament. As revealed by an overjoyed FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Fox News, Trump will be on hand to present the World Cup trophy to the tournament winners after the July 19 championship at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. 'We will be together with the president enjoying the final and handing the trophy to the winner, of course, together,' a smiling Infantino told host and former CW Post soccer player Brian Kilmeade on Fox & Friends. 'We are together all the time.' The octogenarian's presence at the trophy ceremony breaks from recent tradition. Neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani were involved when France or Argentina won in 2018 or 2022, respectively. Infantino has made a habit of flattering Trump. In December, after Trump's bid for the Nobel Peace Prize fell well short, Infantino and FIFA stepped in to award him the organization's inaugural version of the 'FIFA Peace Prize.'  'You definitely deserve the first FIFA Peace Prize for your action, for what you have obtained in your way, but you have obtained it in an incredible way,' Infantino said while presenting Trump with the award in December. 'You can always count, Mr President, on my support, on the support of the entire football community – or "soccer" community – to help you make peace and make the world prosper all over the world.' Donald Trump holds the World Cup Trophy in the Oval Office in August of 2025  A smiling Infantino boasted that Trump would be with him for the World Cup trophy ceremony White House World Cup Task Force director Andrew Giuliani has left open the possibility that Trump makes an appearance at the tournament before the championship at MetLife Stadium. 'He likes a good cliffhanger,' Giuliani added. 'He likes to leave people watching.' Trump previously appeared at one memorable FIFA trophy ceremony in 2025, when he lingered on stage as Chelsea raised the hardware after beating Paris Saint-Germain for the first Club World Cup title. 'I knew he was going to be here but I didn't know he was going to be on the stand when we lifted the trophy,' Chelsea's Cole Palmer said later. 'I was a bit confused, yes.' The World Cup represents a rare bright spot for the White House communications team amid rising inflation, a tenuous ceasefire with Iran, and ongoing controversy over the Justice Department's delays in releasing the Epstein Files. Trump lingered on stage as Chelsea raised the hardware after beating Paris Saint-Germain for the first Club World Cup title in July of 2025 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey Test your knowledge. Updated daily Play and collect a World Cup great EVERY day Can YOU identify the scorer and assist provider FIFA has projected the 2026 World Cup will boost the US GDP by $17 billion, but even if that estimate proves optimistic, fan response at the tournament has been largely positive. Most notably, Scotland's Tartan Army has been embraced in both Boston and Miami, where kilted fans have ingratiated themselves to locals in a number of ways. 'I met these two gorgeous girls from Boston. It was her birthday, she was having cocktails. I bought her another one and they kept saying 'welcome to Boston, Massachusetts!',' Scottish fan Gail Nicholl told Reuters. 'They loved us, we loved them ... Everyone is so friendly, so nice.' A Swiss fan from Zurich agreed: 'Something new for me is ​how friendly and outgoing everyone is.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy. Your browser does not support iframes.