Donald Trump once again placed the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the center of the global sports and political spotlight. The President of the United States attended a FIFA reception in New York on Friday, just ahead of the highly anticipated final between Argentina and Spain, and made several statements that quickly attracted international attention.

Together with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and other prominent figures from the worlds of football and international politics, Trump said that the 2026 World Cup had already become the most attended tournament in the history of the competition.

According to the U.S. president, more than 6.5 million spectators have already attended World Cup matches, a figure he said surpasses the combined attendance of the previous two editions of the tournament.

Trump also praised Lionel Messi and highlighted the Argentine captain's performance in the semifinal against England. The president referred to one of Messi's key plays and expressed his admiration for the player's technical precision.

“I saw that pass Messi made and, I know something about soccer, I saw Messi and he was well marked, right? And suddenly, he was on the right, he shot and he was a quarter of an inch from being perfect. It was brilliant,” Trump said.

The U.S. president also discussed Argentina's chances in Sunday's final against Spain, asking whether Lionel Scaloni's team could repeat its World Cup triumph.

But one of the most politically significant developments surrounding the event came from the position expressed by the White House regarding Argentina's claim to sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, known in Argentina as the Islas Malvinas.

Following Argentina's semifinal victory over England, Argentine players displayed a banner reading “The Malvinas are Argentine.” Asked about the incident, Andrew Giuliani, an adviser to President Trump and the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, said that the Argentine players were “fully within their rights” to express that position.

“We believe in the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution,” Giuliani said when asked about the episode.

The statement carries particular significance in Argentina, where the sovereignty claim over the Malvinas Islands is a historic and deeply sensitive national issue. The controversy had already intensified before the match against England following several comments related to the dispute, and it gained renewed attention after Argentina's victory.

In a day when football and politics once again intersected, Trump highlighted the global impact of the World Cup, praised Messi and focused on the historic sporting rivalry between Argentina and England. At the same time, a political adviser from his administration offered a clear position: Argentine footballers had the right to publicly express their claim over the Malvinas Islands.

With the World Cup final between Argentina and Spain just hours away, the 2026 tournament is not only about determining the next world champion. It is also producing moments and statements that extend far beyond the pitch and resonate across international politics.