Spain won their second World Cup title with a 1-0 extra-time victory over Argentina at MetLife Stadium, a final decided by Ferran Torres’s close-range finish in the 106th minute. Argentina had been reduced to ten men when Enzo Fernández received a second yellow card in stoppage time of normal play, and Spain exploited the numerical advantage when Nico Williams nodded a cross down for Torres to sweep home. The match ended in acrimony: Leandro Paredes was dismissed after the final whistle for grabbing an opponent’s throat, and Lionel Messi’s bid to retain the trophy ended in tears.

Donald Trump’s arrival aboard Marine One, with a low flyover of the stadium, marked his first appearance at a match in the tournament he had repeatedly claimed credit for bringing to the United States. He watched from a box alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino, First Lady Melania Trump and their son Barron, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, King Felipe VI, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also attended. The gathering came against a backdrop of diplomatic friction: Trump had recently criticised Spain over NATO spending and the Iran conflict, threatened Canada with tariffs, and maintained a tense relationship with Mexico over immigration.

When Trump and Infantino walked onto the pitch for the trophy ceremony, the stadium’s giant screens captured a wave of boos and whistles that lifted the ambient noise from 78 to 84 decibels. The jeers subsided as the pair handed medals to players and officials, but resurfaced when Trump, after passing the trophy to Spain captain Rodri, remained on the podium as the squad gathered for the traditional lift. Infantino was seen gesturing for the president to step aside, yet Trump stayed, smiling among the celebrating players as confetti fell—a scene that echoed his lingering during Chelsea’s Club World Cup triumph at the same venue a year earlier.

The ceremony capped a tournament in which Trump had already drawn scrutiny. Earlier in the knockout stage, he telephoned Infantino to request a review of a red card shown to United States forward Folarin Balogun; the suspension was subsequently overturned, prompting accusations of political interference. Trump, however, described the World Cup as “the most successful sporting event maybe in the history of the world” and declared that the United States had become “a soccer country.”

For Spain, the victory added a second star to their crest, sixteen years after their first in 2010, and confirmed a generation’s dominance of international football. For Argentina, the defeat ended Messi’s hopes of bowing out with back-to-back titles, and the post-match images of a tearful Messi collecting his runners-up medal were broadcast worldwide.