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The biggest takeaways from the 2026 World Cup

Breitbart (AP wire) · back to the audit

ATLANTA (AP) - The World Cup final between Spain and defending champion Argentina marks the end of the biggest tournament in the competition's history. At the final whistle in New Jersey on Sunday, a record 104 games will have been played across almost six weeks and three countries.

Trump's role in focus

While the Trump administration's travel restrictions on a series of countries prevented some fans from traveling to the U.S., there were no reports of the aggressive immigration enforcement that some human rights groups had feared could take place around World Cup stadiums.

Besides the final, Trump didn't attend any World Cup games. However, his relationship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino came into sharp focus when U.S. striker Folarin Balogun's one game ban for a red card was suspended ahead of the team's round of 16 game against Belgium.

Trump said he had called Infantino to ask for the decision to be reviewed before FIFA made Balogun eligible to play. FIFA insisted its disciplinary bodies acted independently, but the incident raised question about political interference.

Ultimately, the decision didn't help the U.S. as it lost 4-1 to Belgium.

By James Robson, AP, republished on Breitbart. [Published 2026-07-19T04:34:24Z per page metadata - before the final kicked off; the piece is written in the future tense about the match and predates the trophy ceremony.]