U.S. President Donald Trump on the 19th (local time) personally presented the championship trophy to Spain, which beat Argentina to win the 2026 North and Central America World Cup.
After watching the final held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, New York, the United States, that day, President Trump attended the awards ceremony.
As president of the United States, a World Cup co-host nation and the site of the final, Trump, together with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, handed the championship trophy to the Spanish team.
Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada, and Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of Mexico, who are leaders of the co-host nations, also joined on the awards stage.
Standing side by side next to President Infantino, the leaders of the three countries shook hands in turn with the players who came up on the awards stage. President Trump, together with Infantino, presented medals to the champion Spain and runner-up Argentina players.
Trump also shook hands with Argentina's marquee star Lionel Messi, whom he had praised highly earlier, and placed the runner-up medal around his neck himself.
Ahead of the final that day, Trump mentioned Messi's performance in this World Cup in a Fox Sports interview and said, "It's hard to bet that Messi will lose."
After the medal presentation to the players ended, the handover of the championship trophy followed.
Trump lifted the World Cup championship trophy, which had been placed on the podium table, together with Infantino and handed it to Spain captain Rodri.
Then, as golden confetti burst from the podium, the Spanish players cheered and took commemorative photos. Trump stood by the players, applauding, and remained on the podium until the first photo shoot ended.
During this process, the broadcast captured Infantino, who was on the left side of the podium, hastily approaching Trump and gesturing that he should step aside.
When Trump appeared on the field to present the trophy that day, boos erupted from the stands.
According to the White House press pool, the crowd noise in the stands was initially at 78 decibels but rose to 84 decibels when the boos broke out.