“You Hear That, Gianni?”: Trump Wants World Cup Back in U.S. “Immediately”

President Donald Trump said the United States will “immediately” request another World Cup after the 2026 final on Sunday when Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time.

In a pregame Fox Sports interview at the World Cup final, Trump pitched FIFA president Gianni Infantino on naming the U.S. as the next World Cup host, then a different country after that, and said the tournament should return “while I’m around.” The World Cup 2026 finale ended with Trump booed during the broadcast and again during the trophy ceremony as Spain lifted the trophy.

Trump made the comments in an interview with Fox Sports before kickoff. He framed the United States’ next bid as a direct follow-up to a summer he described as packed with strong attendance.

“I had a great idea for Gianni,” Trump said. “I said: You have to do two countries. So announce us for next time, and then announce another country after that, and it’ll take out some of the anger and the shock!

“Now I think it’s a great idea. Based on the numbers, we will be requesting it again immediately. I said, to take out the shock, you could announce another country for the next one... but we have to do this again. You hear that, Gianni?”

There’s a problem with that pitch: it doesn’t line up with what FIFA has already decided. The 2030 World Cup is set to be co-hosted by Morocco, Spain and Portugal, and the 2034 tournament has already been awarded to Saudi Arabia. Both hosting slots have been locked in since December 2024, which raises the question of whether Trump simply isn’t aware of that, or whether he’s talking as if FIFA’s host selection is his and Infantino’s to rearrange whenever he asks.

That’s not an idle question. Earlier in the tournament, Trump called Infantino directly to push for a review after U.S. forward Folarin Balogun was given a red card and an automatic one-game suspension in the team’s round-of-32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. FIFA subsequently lifted the suspension, allowing Balogun to play in the round of 16, a reversal that stirred a political storm and raised questions about political interference in the tournament.

Trump has downplayed his role, saying he only asked for a review, while Infantino has insisted FIFA’s disciplinary process is independent of outside pressure. Coming off that episode, it’s fair to ask whether Trump actually understands how FIFA’s hosting process works, or whether he simply expects Infantino to make things happen for him on request, the same way the Balogun suspension disappeared.

Trump also said he had warned about the risk of “empty stadiums” before the tournament came to North America, then pointed to the crowds as proof the event worked.

“I brilliantly said, ‘Well, we’ll do it,’ but, you know, you could have a lot of empty stadiums,” he said. “I think I saw 99.9%, and it’s probably wrong because I think they were overflowing, actually.”

Infantino praised Trump two days earlier at a FIFA reception at Trump Tower, saying the World Cup “would not have been such an incredible success without you.”

On the field, Spain won its second World Cup when Ferran Torres scored in extra time to beat Argentina 1-0. Spain’s first title in 2010 also came through a 1-0 extra-time win, that time against the Netherlands in South Africa.

The crowd reaction became part of the night almost as quickly as the final itself. After Jennifer Hudson performed the National Anthem, Trump appeared on the screen, and a wave of boos rang out until the broadcast switched from the president to an aerial shot of the stadium.

The response grew louder after the match. Moments before Trump helped present the award to the victorious Spain squad, he and Infantino entered the field and received a deafening chorus of boos, louder than the earlier Jumbotron reaction. Trump later joined captain Rodri on the podium as Spain lifted the trophy.

Viewers reacted fast online. “MASSIVE BOOS for Trump at World Cup. He has to be livid!” one X user, @krassenstein, wrote in a widely shared post.

Another X user joked, in a reply cited by TheWrap, “He’ll probably host another press conference to whine about how he was mistreated and he’s tripling tariffs on Spain and Argentina.”

Trump’s presence during Spain’s celebration became its own moment. As the team gathered to lift the trophy, Infantino stepped aside and gestured for Trump to join him off to the side, out of the shot. Trump stayed put instead, remaining next to the players as Rodri hoisted the trophy overhead. Infantino then hurried back across the stage, motioning again for Trump to step away, but Trump held his ground at the edge of the stage before eventually being led off so Spain could celebrate on their own.

It wasn’t the first time: a nearly identical scene played out a year earlier at the same stadium, when Infantino tried to usher Trump off stage during Chelsea’s Club World Cup trophy celebration.

For Trump, the night mixed a public pitch for another U.S. World Cup with a very public rebuke from parts of the crowd. For FIFA, it added political noise to a final remembered for Spain’s extra-time win and for the president’s direct message to Infantino: “You hear that, Gianni?”