FINAL RECKONING
Donald Trump has mostly avoided involvement in the Geopolitics World Cup, having not attended any matches or appeared alongside his acquaintance, FIFA president Gianni Infantino. However, he did make a notable call to FIFA to advocate for a review of Folarin Balogun’s red card issued during the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which resulted in the USA forward’s suspension being overturned, arguably undermining the tournament’s integrity.
This Sunday, the GWC final featuring Spain and Argentina—the most significant match of the tournament—will see the U.S. president in attendance. The White House has announced Trump will be present at the New York-New Jersey Stadium, where a rematch of last year’s Copa Gianni final could unfold. Following Chelsea’s victory over Paris Saint-Germain, Trump and Infantino presented the trophy to Reece James. While FIFA’s president attempted to gracefully exit the stage, Trump remained steadfastly in place, celebrating alongside Robert Sánchez and a visibly perplexed Cole Palmer. “I knew he was going to be here but I didn’t know he was going to be on the stand when we lifted the trophy,” Palmer remarked. “It was, I think, mostly cheers,”
Back then, boos echoed for Trump, similar to the reactions he faced at Madison Square Garden when he attended the New York Knicks’ only loss during the NBA finals in June. “It was loud, and it was very enthusiastic.” Trump insisted. “Um, excuse me, President Trump … you’re in the shot.” Any negative reactions this Sunday will likely be interpreted in a similar light. One wonders what could distract from the spectacle of the presidential appearance. One can only hope that, regardless of the outcome, Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal will reunite for some memorable photos on the podium, almost two decades after their first shoot together.
It is quite amusing, isn’t it? The images from 2007 are resurfacing, showing a 20-year-old Messi holding a baby for a charity calendar supporting UNICEF. That infant has now become Messi’s successor at Barcelona, taking on the iconic No 10 shirt, and they are set to meet again in a World Cup final. Photographers will be eager to capture the moment when they embrace, and let us hope no one attempts to photobomb. “I’m going to keep watching all the games from Olivos. Since it’s cold and I don’t turn on the heat, I wear an oil company-branded jacket. The day of the Switzerland game, it made me really hot. I took it off, and they scored a goal against us. I put it back on and never took it off again”
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I’m going to keep watching all the games from Olivos. Since it’s cold and I don’t turn on the heat, I wear an oil company-branded jacket. The day of the Switzerland game, it made me really hot. I took it off, and they scored a goal against us. I put it back on and never took it off again,”
said Javier Milei, confirming that superstition will keep him from the GWC final, as he prepares to watch from home in attire likely to raise eyebrows given the current climate concerns.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
“Re: naming the 2030 World Cup (Football Daily letters passim). May I suggest ‘The Carbon Footprint WC’ or simply ‘El Carbonaro’” – Krishna Moorthy.
“Brian Saffer’s suggestions for allowing everyone to participate in the next World Cup and dividing it into three divisions surely must lead to it being called the Swiss Model World Cup – SMWC” – George Paterson.
“You could always stop trying to be too clever by half and just refer to it as ‘the World Cup’” – Alan Burgess.
“Oh, you thought the STOP FOOTBALL campaign might last two days but, no, Major League Soccerball is back, baby! Four matches were played last night as the league announced, via its back-to-action campaign: ‘Thanks, World; We’ll Take It From Here’” – JJ Zucal.
If you have any letters to share, please send them to the.boss@. Today’s prized letter of the day goes to … JJ Zucal. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.
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