No matter who is in the final World Cup match, there could be some awkwardness in New Jersey on July 19 when US President Donald Trump presents the trophy.
Trump has made war on one country in the tournament and verbal war on many others. He has insulted the people or its leaders of multiple others. He’s tried to influence elections in South America, imposed tariffs on economies everywhere, and broken old bonds as he’s tried to remake the world order with an America First foreign policy.
If the US wins…
It is still a longshot for the US to win, although the US Men’s National Team is daring people to believe with a commanding group stage performance. But if Americans do win, it will be thanks to a team with multiple immigrant players. The team’s top scorer after two games is Folarin Balogun, whose Nigerian mother was seven months pregnant with him when she became unable to leave New York. He lived most of his life in the UK and plays professionally for Monaco in the top French league, but is able to represent the US because of birthright citizenship.
Folarin Balogun of the United States shoots during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between USA and Australia in Seattle, Washington, on June 19, 2026.Fran Santiago/Getty Images
The right of anyone born in the US to be a US citizen is protected by the 14th Amendment, but the conservative-dominated Supreme Court is currently deciding if Trump can invalidate it anyway. If Trump has his way, Balogun would be playing for Nigeria or England.
If another country wins…
He made war on Iran, which has not yet been eliminated from the World Cup despite its team facing extra restrictions during the tournament.
He called top contender Spain a “horror show” for its opposition to his war on Iran and threatened to cut off all trade with the country. Australia is one of multiple countries Trump called out by name for not helping in the Iran war – even though he did not try to build a coalition for the war before launching it alongside Israel.
His mercurial relationship with NATO has much of Western Europe, the soccer world’s power center, on edge.
He once called Belgium capital Brussels, home of NATO, a hell hole.
He said Norway is a “joke” because he didn’t get the Nobel Peace Prize. FIFA, soccer’s governing body, gave him a consolation peace prize of their own.
Leaders of France and Germany have squirmed as they frequently tried to placate Trump without alienating the US. All the while Trump’s allies have made ties with far-right parties in Europe.
He seemed to delight in the recent political demise of United Kingdom’s prime minister, which includes England and Scotland, where he owns a golf course that helped spark his disdain for renewable energy like offshore wind farms.
He called Haiti and African nations “shithole countries” during his first term and during the 2024 presidential campaign he spread a false conspiracy theory about Haitian asylum seekers eating the pets of Ohioans. Now the conservative-leaning US Supreme Court will allow him to deport Haitians who had temporarily legal status in the US.
Trucks cross the US-Canada border along the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario, on March 8, 2025.Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images
He’s poked at fellow host nations Mexico and Canada with tariffs, a border wall, and a recurring threat to take Canada’s sovereignty.
He wants to reclaim the Panama Canal, which was given back to Panama by Jimmy Carter.
He’s meddled in South American politics by offering Argentina a bailout to give his friend President Javier Milei a boost. The US has a similarly friendly relationship with Paraguay, where reports have suggested the US sees potential for data center projects. The US is also friendly with Ecuador, where the US military has been involved in drug raids.
But he imposed 40% tariffs on Brazil to punish the opponent of his friend, former President Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year prison sentence for an attempted coup.
He endorsed the far-right opposition party in Colombia’s elections this month and its leader, Abelardo de la Espriella, who is a dual Colombia-US citizen, leads in the first count of a razor-tight runoff.
He accused South Africa’s president of “genocide” against White farmers in the Oval Office. While Trump has cut off paths to asylum in the US for much of the world, the Trump administration has welcomed White South Africans.
Oval Office meetings are something of a test for visiting world leaders. Trump made a joke about Pearl Harbor when he welcomed Japan’s new leader this year.
Prime Minister of Japan Sanae Takaichi listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on March 19, 2026.Alex Wong/Getty Images
The US appears to be reversing course in Ghana. Where the Biden administration had opposed local anti-LGBTQ laws, the Trump administration stayed silent on a law passed last month that includes prison time for people who are LGBTQ and also for people who advocate for those who are LGBTQ. It also did not condemn a similar law passed in Senegal, leading some activists to accuse the US of helping foster the anti-gay atmosphere in some African countries.
Democratic Republic of Congo is the site of an Ebola outbreak, which has raised questions about US foreign aid cuts early in Trump’s second term.
The US Embassy in Sarajevo threatened to reconsider the US role in the area after a diplomatic dispute with European countries and Donald Trump Jr. visited a separatist leader who had previously been sanctioned by the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Supreme Court struck them down, but Trump’s sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” in 2025 put inordinate pressure on Bosnia-Herzegovina and tiny Tunisia.
Trump has warm relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, despite the country’s human rights issues, although they are among the Gulf states watching with concern as the US negotiates with Iran, which have taken place in Geneva, Switzerland. Separately, his recent call for more Middle Eastern countries to join the Abraham Accords and normalize relations with Israel has caused some consternation and put some unexpected pressure on the Saudis, Jordan, Egypt and Qatar.
The US is a superpower with wide influence, but Trump’s version of foreign policy, while it does recognize his priorities and friendships, also creates some awkwardness around the world. Not that many players will be thinking about that if they’re able to hoist the trophy.
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