Spain’s players looked like they were ready to explode as they waited for team captain Rodri to lift the World Cup trophy into the air following their 1-0 win over Argentina in Sunday’s final.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino looked a bit anxious as he wanted the newly crowned champions to have their moment but didn’t want to offend a good friend who happens to be one of the most powerful men in the world.
And President Trump looked rather clueless as he lingered on the stage at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., for an awkward amount of time following the trophy presentation.
Trump had watched the championship game from a luxury box with Infantino and First Lady Melania Trump, among many others. He was booed by the crowd during the national anthems and again when he took the field with Infantino after the game for the awards ceremony.
After presenting silver medals to Argentina’s players and gold to Spain’s, Trump and Infantino carried the World Cup trophy together across the stage and handed it to Golden Ball winner Rodri, who was standing in front of his teammates as they awaited their big moment.
The presidents of FIFA and the U.S. both shook hands with Rodri, but only one of them quickly moved off to the side. When Trump hung around to shake hands and speak with midfielder Gavi, Rodri put his hand on the president’s shoulder and appeared to gently nudge him toward the side of the stage away from the group.
As he walked off, Trump shook hands and talked with a few other players, then stopped and stood directly next to the group of players. Infantino sprinted across the stage and appeared to attempt to usher Trump out of frame.
Trump stayed put, however, clapping and smiling until Rodri thrusted the trophy skyward and gold confetti shot from cannons behind them to officially start the celebration. Then Trump strolled away to join Infantino, leaving La Roja’s players to celebrate on their own.
It could have been much worse … like, say, at last summer’s FIFA Club World Cup final, which was also held at MetLife Stadium. Trump accompanied Infantino onstage to present the trophy to Chelsea — but did not accompany him off the stage immediately following the presentation.
Instead, Trump remained out there front and center among the Chelsea players, much to the visable confusion of some of them. He stood right next to Reece James, clapping and smiling as the team captain hoisted the trophy in triumph and a massive celebration erupted around him.
As the president of one of the three 2026 World Cup host countries (with Canada and Mexico), Trump’s presence has loomed large. In December, Infantino awarded Trump with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize during the tournament’s final draw in December.
Earlier this month, Trump called Infantino to have FIFA reconsider a red card against U.S. striker Folarin Balogun that would have prevented the star player from taking part in the American’s round of 16 game against Belgium (the penalty was rescinded, causing international uproar, but the U.S. still lost the game 4-1).
“You don’t need people to compliment you, Mr. President,” Infantino said Friday during a reception hosted by the president at Trump Tower in Manhattan, “but this World Cup would not have been such an incredible success without you,”
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — This summer’s World Cup was so good, nobody wanted it to end.
So Spain and Argentina played on and on in Sunday’s final, through 90 minutes of regulation time and then through a 15-minute extra period before Ferran Torres gave Spain the only goal it needed to claim the title with a 1-0 victory over the defending champion at a sold-out MetLife Stadium.
It was an epic finish to an epic tournament, one that set records for everything from attendance and TV viewers to games played and goals scored. And it was almost certainly the last World Cup for Argentine captain Lionel Messi, 39, who finished his record-setting sixth tournament as the all-time leader in games (34), assists (12) and goal contributions (33).
His parting gift was a silver medal, a handshake from President Trump and a hug from the King of Spain. But none of those were the prize he wanted most, so when he left the stage after receiving his medal, he broke down in tears.
A swarming Spanish defense made him little more than a spectator for most of the match. So while Argentina came into the final leading the tournament in goals per game, it also became the first team to go 90 minutes without a shot in a World Cup final. It was outshot 20-2 for the game, and Spanish keeper Unai Simón, who gave up just one goal in eight matches, was not forced to make a save in registering his seventh clean sheet.
He was named the outstanding keeper of the tournament.
That allowed Torres, who started just once in the tournament, to become the hero.
“Honestly, I can’t believe it. I just am trying to enjoy it, but I don’t know what’s happening,” Torres said. “I didn’t think too much. I just saw the ball coming to me and I just shot with the power of all the Spanish people.”
Spain’s Ferran Torres celebrates after scoring in extra time against Argentina in the World Cup final Sunday.
(Julio Cortez / Associated Press)
Rodri, Spain’s captain and the anchor of the team’s smothering defense during its unbeaten World Cup run, won the Golden Ball award as the outstanding player of the tournament. He was equally stunned.
“I’m in shock,” he said. “I cannot express [my feelings] in words. I’m like in a cloud.”
For Rodri, who also led Spain to a European Championship two years ago, Sunday’s victory capped a personal two-year struggle to return from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament he sustained in 2024, a month before he hobbled onstage with crutches to receive the Ballon d’Or award as the world’s best player.
“It’s been a really tough time,” said the midfielder, who broke the World Cup record for completed passes in the tournament with 747. “I just want new generations to see my example as an opportunity to when you go down, you can rise again. This is my philosophy my entire life.
“Sometimes things go well, things go wrong. But always the positive.”
Highlights from Spain’s 1-0 win over Argentina in the World Cup final on Sunday.
The only goal came seconds into the second extra-time period, with defender Pedro Porro sending a long cross to the left post for Nico Williams, who headed it back into the center of the box for Torres, a second-half substitute who buried the left-footed volley that would give Spain its second World Cup title.
Torres, who entered the game just past the hour mark, is the fifth man to come off the bench and score in a World Cup final and the first since Germany’s Mario Gotze, whose extra-time goal beat Argentina in 2014. Williams, who got the assist, was also a late-game substitute.
“We are world champions. I am very proud,” Luis de la Fuente, Spain’s coach, said through an interpreter after his team ran its unbeaten streak to a record 38 games.
“I’m very happy for my players. We’ve won in all the categories. We’ve grown together. We reached this stage today thanks to their talent, to their attitude, to their comportment, to their values and to the huge footballing talent.”
The goal ruined a superhuman effort by Argentine keeper Emiliano Martínez, who made 11 saves while playing with a fractured right ring finger that will require surgery. That’s two more saves than he had over the rest of the tournament.
But the moment that may have sealed Argentina’s fate came in the final minutes of second-half stoppage time when Enzo Fernández clattered into Spanish center back Pau Cubarsí at midfield, flipping him head over heels. Fernández had been booked minutes earlier for dissent, and the second yellow card led to his expulsion, forcing Argentina to finish shorthanded.
Spain wasted little time exploiting the advantage and appeared to have scored six minutes into extra time when Williams banged in the rebound of a Martínez save, only to have Slovakian referee Slavko Vincic wave it off, ruling that Spain’s Mikel Merino had fouled Argentine defender Nicolás Otamendi in the buildup to the goal.
Spain star Lamine Yamal in congratulated by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, left, and receives his medal from President Trump following Spain’s win over Argentina in the World Cup final Sunday.
(Justin Setterfield / Getty Images)
The capacity crowd of 80,663, matching the second-largest of the tournament’s 104 games, booed Trump when he appeared on a videoboard during the national anthem and again when he walked onto the pitch for the postgame awards ceremony.
During the victory ceremony after the final of last summer’s Club World Cup, played at the same stadium, Trump remained on the podium to celebrate with Chelsea’s players and was seen on TV pocketing one of the winners’ medals. On Sunday, after Trump joined FIFA President Gianni Infantino presenting the World Cup trophy to Rodri, the Spanish captain motioned to Trump to move to the left side of the stage. As Spain lifted the trophy, Infantino escorted the president off the podium and away from the celebration.
When Argentina gave the trophy back to Spain, it likely marked a passing of the torch. Argentina has played in three of the last four World Cup finals, but the average age of its starting lineup Sunday was more than 30, making it the second-oldest to play in a final behind the 11 Brazil used to win in 1962. And it got a bit older when Otamendi, 38, came on for 28-year-old Lisandro Martínez, who left with an apparent injury just before the end of the first half.
Argentina star Lionel Messi reacts after losing to Spain in the World Cup final.
(Pamela Smith / Associated Press)
Spain, meanwhile, had the sixth-youngest roster of the 48 teams. Two of La Roja’s starters — teenagers Cubarsí and wunderkind Lamine Yamal — hadn’t even been born when Messi made his World Cup debut in 2006.
“The way this team has matured, it built every day,” said Rodri, the third-oldest starter on the team despite being just 30. “We faced different opponents. Of course, lots of European opponents. But different moments and different types of games and we managed to play all of them.
“We grew in this sense and this generation is making history for our country.”
A history that de la Fuente said is just beginning.
“This team has a long way to go,” he said. “We are already thinking to what is next, what is coming up.”
Sports Editor Iliana Limón Romeroand staff writers Jad El Reda and Eduard Cauich contributed to this report.
Spain players celebrate after defeating Argentina for the World Cup title on Sunday.
Real Madrid are confident of signing Rodri from Manchester City amid Pep Guardiola’s departure, Bayern Munich plan a shock move for John Stones, while Atletico Madrid want Marc Cucurella.
Bayern Munich are considering a shock move for England defender John Stones with the 31-year-old set to leave Manchester City at the end of the season. (Mail), external
Atletico Madrid are weighing up moves for Manchester City‘s 31-year-old Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva and Chelsea‘s 27-year-old Spain defender Marc Cucurella. (Sky Sports), external
Inter Miami are closing in on the signing of Manchester United‘s Brazil midfielder Casemiro with the 34-year-old set to leave the club at the end of the season. (Athletic) , external
Liverpool‘s 33-year-old Brazil goalkeeper Alisson wants to join Juventus this summer even if the Serie A side fail to qualify for the Champions League. (Gazzetta – in Italian), external
Barcelona have agreed personal terms with 28-year-old England forward Marcus Rashford as they look to make his loan deal permanent, but are yet to agree a transfer fee with Manchester United.(Sport – in Spanish), external
Manchester Unitedare monitoring Borussia Dortmund left-back Julian Ryerson, 28, with the Norway international being lined up as a possible replacement for Noussair Mazraoui. (Sky Sports Germany), external
Manchester Unitedcould take advantage of Southampton’s Spygate controversy by moving for 22-year-old Northern Ireland midfielder Shea Charles. (Mirror), external
Liverpoolcould make a move for 21-year-old Norway winger Antonio Nusa should a deal for his RB Leipzig team-mate Yan Diomande become too difficult. (Football Insider), external
Fenerbahce have emerged as a surprise contender to sign 33-year-old Egypt forward Mohamed Salah from Liverpool this summer. (Caught Offside), external
Chelseaare weighing up a move for Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Edmond Tapsoba, 27, with the Burkina Faso international having previously worked under incoming boss Xabi Alonso. (Teamtalk), external
