Why Trump is set to snub USA’s World Cup 2026 opener – and the one sporting event he will attend this weekend

Donald Trump is set to be absent from the Los Angeles Stadium when USA begin their 2026 World Cup against Paraguay on Friday night.

The US are one of three co-hosts staging the tournament in North America alongside Mexico and Canada, and each nation’s opening game will feature its own opening ceremony.

State figureheads usually appear at their country’s first match of the tournament and Trump was expected to be in the stands. Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attended Qatar’s opening game against Ecuador in 2022, and Vladimir Putin watched Russia’s first game of the 2018 World Cup against Saudi Arabia in Moscow.

But it has been widely reported that the US president will not attend, barring a late U-turn, instead leaving secretary of state Mark Rubio to travel from Washington with transport secretary Sean Duffy and secretary of homeland security Markwayne Mullin.

Trump will be at the White House on Saturday evening, however, to host a UFC event, dubbed UFC Freedom, in celebration of his 80th birthday and the USA’s 250th anniversary.

The US president has regularly appeared at major sporting events during his two terms. He flew in to the Ryder Cup in New York last year and was present at the Club World Cup final in New Jersey last summer, inserting himself into Chelsea’s trophy celebrations on stage.

His appearances have not always been welcomed. Trump was loudly booed at the NBA Finals last week after being shown on big screens. His vice-president, JD Vance, was booed at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Milan earlier this year.

The start of the tournament has been clouded in controversy around high ticket prices and America’s strict border controls. Fans from more than half the qualified countries need visas to enter the United States, adding cost and uncertainty for travellers already wary of tight border enforcement.

The Trump administration also denied a Somali referee entry over alleged links to “suspected members of terror organisations”.