The Daily Populous Monday July 20th, 2026 evening edition
Authored by nytimes.com and submitted by projecto15

President Donald Trump has told Gianni Infantino the United States will be requesting to host the World Cup again “immediately” as he lauded the success of the 2026 tournament.

The U.S. president is attending the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the first time he has been present for a match for the duration of the six-week competition.

Trump played a significant role in the original awarding of the tournament to the U.S., Canada and Mexico and made a considerable impact once play started with his call to FIFA president Infantino ultimately resulting in USMNT striker Folarin Balogun seeing a one-game ban for a red card in the tournament’s round of 16 overturned.

The World Cup will next be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco in 2030, with the opening three games set for Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to mark the 100-year anniversary of the tournament.

After what he believes has been a “beautiful” tournament, Trump says the U.S. is a “soccer country” and wants to see the competition back on American soil as soon as possible.

In an interview with Fox’s Jenny Taft ahead of Sunday’s showpiece, Trump said: “Well, I had an idea for Gianni. So he got it all started and, you know, I brilliantly said, ‘Well, we’ll do it,’ but, you know, you could have a lot of empty stadiums. (It) didn’t work out that way.

President Trump spoke with @JennyTaft ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final@realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/Wk463lj1wU — FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 19, 2026

“I think I saw 99.9 percent, and it’s probably wrong because I think they were overflowing, actually. But I had a great idea for Gianni. I said, ‘You have to do two countries.’ So announce us again next time, and announce another country after that, that’ll take out some of the anger and the shock.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” he continued. “But based on the numbers, we will be requesting it again immediately. But I said to take out the shock, you could announce us and maybe then for the next one another, and even another. But we have to do this again, and we have to do it while I’m around. You hear that, Gianni?”

The 2034 World Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia meaning the next unassigned tournament would be 2038 when Trump would be 92.

The Balogun controversy once again sparked scrutiny on Trump’s relationship with Infantino, a dynamic which was a key theme in the build up to the tournament and has seen repeated and high-profile calls for FIFA’s president to step down.

“I don’t think there’s ever been anything like what’s happened with the whole World Cup,” Trump said. “It’s been beautiful. It’s a beautiful thing to watch and I really give Gianni the credit.”

Argentina will attempt to defend its crown as world champions against Spain on Sunday with Trump knowing which way he thinks it will go.

“I would say that it’s hard to bet against (Lionel) Messi,” he added.

“I watched that pass (the assist for Lautaro Martinez’s semifinal winning goal against England) — I guess you’d call it a pass — that was exactly perfect. Although it takes some talent to hit the ball off the head coming at that speed. But that was perfect. If you had a strike zone, it was exactly where it ought to be.

“And I watched also just before that the way that he got away from the defender. He was very well defended. All of a sudden he’s standing by himself, and he kicked it perfectly. And it’s hard to bet against him. So I won’t pick sides, I just think it’s very hard to bet against Messi. He’s great.”

thatEMSguy on July 20th, 2026 at 11:35 UTC »

Remember when we didn’t have the dumbest fucking person on earth as president?

FireGodNYC on July 20th, 2026 at 10:34 UTC »

Hahah he’ll be dead by the next one

MrLurid on July 20th, 2026 at 10:26 UTC »

He didn't manage to steal the trophy, wants another shot at it.