The last World Cup winners will leave Sunday’s final with a prize that feels far more familiar to American sport than to football: rings. Fifa will present World Cup rings to the champions after Argentina meet Spain, adding an unusual twist to a final already carrying plenty of weight.
The scale of the idea is striking. Fifa will make 30 rings available for the winners, while 1,996 fan copies will also be offered. That puts the trophy presentation into a different kind of frame: one winner’s reward, and a much larger commercial and collector’s version for supporters who want a piece of the occasion.
The match itself is set for Sunday, with Argentina facing Spain in the World Cup final at 20:00 on Sunday, or 22:00 BST. The United States president, Donald Trump, will attend and present the trophy, after Gianni Infantino said he would be there and Karoline Leavitt later confirmed the visit. So far in the tournament, Trump has not attended any of the 102 World Cup games.
An American-style reward at a World Cup final
Winner rings are a tradition in American sport, most famously in the NFL’s Super Bowl, so this move gives the final a distinctly American layer. That matters because the USA have co-hosted the tournament with Canada and Mexico, with the final two games taking place in America. Fifa is not just staging a final; it is borrowing a piece of sporting culture that fits the setting.
There is also a broader political backdrop. The relationship between Gianni Infantino and Donald Trump has been at the heart of the biggest controversy at this summer’s World Cup, and Trump’s presence on Sunday adds another visible layer to that story. It is a final with a sporting answer waiting to be decided, but also one with plenty of symbolism around it.
On the field, Argentina and Spain will decide the title. Off it, Fifa is introducing a new kind of souvenir for the last World Cup winners. Whether the rings become a lasting part of the tournament’s identity or simply a one-off novelty, they have already made this final feel different.
