Donald Trump Sat Next to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum at the World Cup Final

Donald Trump personally invited Claudia Sheinbaum, and she accepted, making the MetLife Stadium suite their first face-to-face meeting since the World Cup draw in December after months of public sparring over trade and security. She sat in the same row as Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino for Argentina against Spain.

At MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Argentina’s Lionel Messi sees action during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final against Spain on July 19, 2026. Photo by Brian Snyder / Reuters.

Trump, Sheinbaum, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney watch the World Cup final from behind the glass of their stadium suite. Photo by Mark J Rebilas / Imagn Images.

Sheinbaum said she flew in because Trump asked her to. “I decided to go because it is a direct invitation from the president of the United States,” she told Mexican media before the match, adding that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney would be there too.

At MetLife Stadium on July 19, 2026, Spain and Argentina meet in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final. Photo by Brian Snyder / REUTERS.

It was the first time the two leaders had been in the same room since the World Cup draw in December, and the months in between have been ugly. In May, the State Department opened a review of 53 Mexican consulates in the United States after two CIA officers were killed during an operation in northern Mexico. In June, Trump said he would not extend the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the core trade pact between the three countries, until 2042. U.S. and Mexican officials are scheduled to sit down for another round of bilateral trade talks two days after the final.

Sheinbaum had skipped the tournament’s opening match in Mexico City, where her national team beat South Africa 2-0, and gave her ticket to a young Indigenous woman. By Saturday afternoon, the cheapest seats to the final were listed on FIFA’s site at nearly $10,000.

Trump flew into MetLife Stadium on Marine One and settled into the suite ahead of kickoff. During the national anthems, Sheinbaum stood in the same row as Trump, Melania Trump, Infantino, Carney, Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. With Sheinbaum and Carney both there, all three host countries of the tournament had their leaders in the same box. Argentina’s President Javier Milei skipped the match, citing superstition.

Once the game started, Trump sat between Melania and Infantino, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the row behind him.

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