Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and US President Donald Trump came face to face on Sunday, July 19th, 2026, at the FIFA World Cup final held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, United States. The two leaders were seated in the VIP section for the match between Spain and Argentina, which was also attended by Spain's King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, and Princesses Leonor and Sofía.

This meeting marked the first direct encounter between Sánchez and Trump after nearly two years of public diplomatic tensions. The main source of friction between the United States and Spain had been over defence spending, with Spain yet to commit to NATO's target of spending 5% of its GDP on defence—a goal strongly advocated by Washington. Sánchez has described this target critically.

Relations have improved in recent weeks following Spain's agreement to substantially increase its NATO defence commitments at the summit in Ankara the previous month. Trump acknowledged this shift, stating that Spain had "fully redeemed itself," a notable contrast to his earlier description of Spain as a "lost cause" and threats of trade retaliation during the summit.

Hours before the encounter, Sánchez congratulated the United States on its 250th anniversary in an interview with Spanish public broadcaster RTVE. Meanwhile, Argentina's President Javier Milei was absent from the VIP section, citing a superstition as the reason for not attending the final. Trump referred to Milei as a "friend" and commented on the final, saying, "It's hard to bet against Messi."

The diplomatic tensions had also been exacerbated by conflicts involving the United States and Iran, adding complexity to the relations between Washington and Madrid.

Sources