"Trump" has made a decision before the United States' opening match and the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Cup.
On 11 June 2026, The Athletic, a leading sports media outlet, reported on US President Donald Trump ahead of the 2026 World Cup opening match where the US national team faces Paraguay, which will also feature the opening ceremony on Friday, 12 June.
It was recently revealed that Donald Trump has no plans to attend the 2026 World Cup opening match between the US and Paraguay on Friday night at the Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California.
The State Department issued a statement saying that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend the match, along with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
Although President Donald Trump has not officially confirmed, four sources close to or familiar with the US leader’s plans, who requested anonymity, said they expect Trump will not attend the match at this time.
This is considered highly unusual, as it is generally expected that the host country’s leader attends their national team’s opening game at the World Cup.
Previously, the Emir of Qatar attended the 2022 opening match where Qatar lost 0-2 to Ecuador. In 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin watched Russia’s opening 5-0 win over Saudi Arabia, and in 2014, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff attended Brazil’s 3-1 opening victory against Croatia.
The reason Donald Trump will not attend the US opening ceremony and match against Paraguay is due to a scheduled visit to Washington, D.C. on Friday to attend the final rehearsal of the UFC event taking place that weekend.
Donald Trump has previously attended major sporting events, including Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the Super Bowl in New Orleans, and UFC matches in Miami and New Jersey.
He has also been present at the Daytona 500, the US National Wrestling Championship in Philadelphia, and the FIFA Club World Cup finalat MetLife Stadium, as well as the US Open Grand Slam men’s singles final in tennis.