Trump Says It's 'Hard to Bet Against Messi' Ahead of Argentina vs Spain World Cup Final

There is one question no politician wants to answer on live television: Argentina or Spain? Donald Trump got asked it anyway ahead of Sunday's World Cup final.

True to form, he found a way to sidestep it without really sidestepping it at all. His answer was not a country. It was a name: Lionel Messi.

Trump Dodges the Argentina-Spain Question but Can't Resist Praising Messi

Speaking to a media outlet before the final, Trump was asked directly to choose between the two finalists. He admitted the question had been on his mind.

'Well, I knew you were going to ask, so I thought about it very, I thought about it a lot,' Trump said. 'I knew that was a question. I hate to get involved, even though politically it doesn't matter so much.'

Trump said Argentina's president was a friend and praised him for doing a 'terrific job.' While the US President declined to pick a side, he repeatedly praised Lionel Messi rather than either team. Many social media users interpreted the remarks as a subtle nod towards Argentina.

'I would say that it's hard to bet against Messi,' Trump continued. 'I watched that pass. I guess you'd call it a pass. It was exactly perfect.'

Trump praised Messi's vision and precision, describing one pass as 'exactly perfect' despite the pressure from defenders. He also highlighted Messi's ability to evade defenders, adding that it was 'hard to bet against him' because of his exceptional skill.

'I just think it's very hard to bet against Messi. He's great,' he concluded.

Although Trump never explicitly backed either country, his repeated praise of Messi became the defining theme of his answer.

How Social Media Reacted to Trump's Not-So-Neutral Answer

The clip travelled fast online, and reactions split along familiar lines. Plenty of users read the remarks as a thinly veiled endorsement of Argentina, with one writing that Trump had 'dodged the official pick but still giving the ultimate respect to the GOAT'.

Others mocked the president's grasp of the sport itself, arguing that football is a team game rather than a one-man show, while a smaller group used the moment to needle him over unrelated political grievances. Not every response was hostile, though.

One user credited him with a footballing education on the fly, joking that 'it took Trump one match to notice the GOAT'. Several others simply enjoyed the theatre of a head of state trying, and largely failing, to stay neutral about the world's biggest sporting event.

Argentina and Spain Meet in a Final Built on Contrasting Journeys

The remarks landed just before Argentina and Spain kicked off the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, pitting the tournament's two form teams against each other. Spain arrived unbeaten, conceding just once all tournament, while Argentina had fought through four knockout matches without leading at the 90-minute mark in any of them.

At the heart of it sat the generational subplot Trump had touched on: 39-year-old Messi chasing a second straight title against 19-year-old Lamine Yamal, Spain's breakout star. An Argentina victory would make the reigning champions the first men's national team since Brazil in 1962 to successfully defend the FIFA World Cup title.