The White House has confirmed that Donald Trump will attend Sunday's World Cup final between Spain and Argentina at New Jersey's New York Stadium, according to press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Fifa president Gianni Infantino has said the US president will join him in presenting the trophy to the winning team, continuing a tradition in which the host nation's leader shares presentation duties with Fifa's chief. The appearance underscores Trump's increasingly prominent role in this year's tournament despite not attending any matches so far.

Infantino reiterated the trophy plan in an interview with Swiss outlet Blue Sport this week, noting it mirrors past finals, such as Qatar's emir joining him in 2022 and Vladimir Putin doing so in 2018. Trump previously presented the Club World Cup trophy to Chelsea at the same stadium last summer, drawing boos from the crowd, and has also faced boos at a recent NBA finals game. He has been credited with lobbying Infantino to review USA player Folarin Balogun's red card before the last-16 stage, a decision that was subsequently overturned. Leavitt also confirmed Trump would attend a Fifa reception at Trump Tower on Friday, though she said she did not know which team he was supporting in the final.