Story by
<img src="https://todaytrendnews7.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/https-2F-2Fd29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net-2Fimages-2Fuser-uploaded-2Fcool-villain-071726_9164.jpg” alt=”Video Player Cover”>
Daniel Mader
Mon, July 20, 2026 at 12:51 PM UTC·2 min read
Why Spain cropped Donald Trump out of World Cup celebration photos originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred
Forty-eight teams entered the 2026 World Cup hoping to be celebrating on-stage at MetLife Stadium by Sunday night. In the end, it was Spain receiving the trophy
Advertisement
Both FIFA president Gianni Infantino and U.S. president Donald Trump played a role in Sunday’s World Cup trophy presentation, standing next to the podium as Spain celebrated its month-long success in the tournament
Many photos taken from the presentation featured Infantino and Trump — but on Spain’s social media accounts, photos were only focused on the team itself, showing neither the FIFA nor the U.S. president
Here’s a look at the photos Spain posted from celebrations that left Trump out
WORLD CUP FINAL HQ: Recap Spain vs. Argentina with minute-by-minute | Player ratings
Advertisement
Why Spain cropped Donald Trump out of World Cup photos
Trump and Infantino did the honors of giving Spain its World Cup trophy on Sunday night, with the U.S. president spending a few extra moments on stage to congratulate players after the trophy was passed over
Infantino was then seen coming over to Trump and pulling him to the side of the stage so Spain could lift the trophy and celebrate
Because of that, there were plenty of photos taken of Spain’s celebration that, in some capacity, included Trump
But the final picture that Spain posted to social media from its big moment featured neither Trump or Infantino — it appeared to capture one of the moments after Trump had stepped away, focusing only on the team’s celebration
MORE:<a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/soccer/news/world-cup-2026-winners-losers-spain-africa-portugal-usmnt/eca0d89996e9cfed4da95558″ rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>2026 World Cup winners and losers
Advertisement
Why did Donald Trump present World Cup trophy?
Trump was in attendance for Sunday’s World Cup final because the United States was one of three hosts of the tournament, including most of the late-bracket matchups, marking the country’s first time hosting the World Cup since 1994
It isn’t often that the head of the host’s state takes part in trophy celebrations — typically, a player from the winning team takes the trophy off a base and takes it to the podium — but considering the size of the 2026 World Cup and execution of it across the United States, Trump was invited by a known friend of his, Infantino, to take part in the trophy presentation
Trump’s relationship with Infantino and his known sports fandom certainly played a role in his attendance, but like Qatari head of state Tamin bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani at the 2022 World Cup final, he was given a chance to play a role in the trophy presentation
