Trump, Spain PM Sanchez to attend WC final on Monday

FE Team | Published: July 17, 2026 22:24:06

WASHINGTON, July 17 (Agencies): US President Donald Trump and Spain's Pedro Sanchez are set to meet again at Monnday's (as per BST) World Cup final, as strained relations between the two leaders over defence spending and the war with Iran continue to simmer.
Sanchez, the Spanish prime minister, will be in New Jersey for the game, his office said on Friday, where Trump could end up handing the trophy to the Spanish team, who play Argentina. Trump has repeatedly criticised Spain over the government's refusal to commit to NATO's target of spending 5 per cent of GDP on defence, making numerous threats of trade reprisals.
The latest came earlier this month at the NATO summit in Ankara when Trump told his advisers to "cut off all trade with Spain, including visits."
The US leader later softened his tone, saying Spain had honoured the request for payments and been "very generous", a statement which Sanchez's government understood as a reference to Madrid complying with its agreed defence spending target of 2 per cent of GDP.
Meanwhile, Argentine President Javier Milei said on Thursday he won't be attending the World Cup final because of superstition, instead choosing to view Sunday's match between Spain and Argentina from home - where he has watched the defending champion's previous seven games, all victories, in the tournament.