Pedro Sánchez briefly shook hands with Donald Trump at the World Cup final, a rare public greeting between two leaders who have clashed over Spain and defense spending. The moment came inside a VIP box that also held Felipe VI, Letizia, Leonor, Sofía, Mark Carney, Claudia Sheinbaum and Zohran Mamdani.
Trump attended a match at this World Cup for the first time and sat next to Melania and Gianni Infantino. The broadcast kept Trump largely out of view during the match, then Trump and Infantino went down from the VIP box after the final to present the trophy to Rodri.
Trump and Pedro in the VIP box
The handshake was brief, but the setting carried more weight than the gesture itself. Pedro Sánchez and Donald Trump had already crossed paths earlier in the month in Ankara at the cumbre de la OTAN, where Trump intensified his attacks on España.
In October, Trump said Madrid should be expelled from the OTAN and called España a terrible and disloyal partner for not committing to spend 5% of GDP on defense. That history made the World Cup final one of the few public settings where Trump and Sánchez could appear in the same frame without a formal bilateral meeting.
Felipe VI and Letizia in the box
España was represented at the final by Felipe VI and Letizia, with Leonor and Sofía also present. Mark Carney and Claudia Sheinbaum were in the VIP box too, turning the match into a crowded diplomatic tableau rather than a routine sports appearance.
Javier Milei missed the final between España and Argentina. His absence did not prevent Argentina’s defeat, while Trump still appeared publicly alongside leaders he has clashed with, including Pedro Sánchez and the representatives of Canadá and México in the box.
Rodri receives the trophy
After the match, Trump and Infantino handed the World Cup to Rodri. That placed Trump on the field at the end of the final rather than in the stands, after most of the match had shown little of him on the broadcast.
The unanswered piece is the exchange inside that handshake: what Pedro Sánchez and Donald Trump said to each other, if anything, during those few seconds. For now, the clearest fact is the image itself — two leaders with a public record of conflict, standing together at the end of a final, with Rodri waiting for the trophy below.
