The high ticket prices for the United States team’s debut at the 2026 World Cup, against Paraguay in Los Angeles, have taken on a political tone. In an interview with New York PostPresident Donald Trump stated that he “would not pay” the amounts charged by FIFA for the game at SoFi Stadium, even though he said he would like to be present.
Website report The Athletic showed that sales for USA x Paraguay are below other events scheduled for the stadium. The cheapest ticket among the three main categories for the match started at US$1,120, which generated a strong reaction from fans. Trump said he did not know the values and stated that, for his voters in regions such as Queens and Brooklyn, the prices are prohibitive.
FIFA tries to defend the pricing policy. At an event in Beverly Hills, the entity’s president, Gianni Infantino, stated that 25% of group stage tickets cost less than US$300 and compared it with the local market. According to him, “in the USA, you can’t even go to a university game for less than US$300, and this is the World Cup”.
Infantino also cited the resale market as justification for keeping values high. As resale is permitted in the United States, the official said, very cheap tickets would be quickly purchased and resold for much higher prices. Still, fans report feeling “cheated” by the category structure, seating charts and ticket allocation.
Despite the specific criticism of the debut prices, Trump reinforced the tournament’s commercial success speech. He endorsed figures released by FIFA, according to which around 5 million tickets have already been sold, and stated that the performance is “extremely successful” and “unprecedented”. The entity, however, will have to reconcile this result with the growing perception that the 2026 World Cup is moving away from the average fan.
