‘I Wouldn’t Pay It’—President Trump Slams World Cup Ticket Prices, U.S. Opening Match Goes Unsold

The U.S. President and FIFA president Gianni Infantino formed a strong relationship in the past.

The two presidents have forged a strong alliance. | Tasos Katopodis/FIFA/Getty Images

U.S. President Donald Trump is the latest to comment on the 2026 World Cup ticket prices as they soar to unprecedented heights in the lead-up to the summer tournament.

When asked about the $1,000+ price tag to see the U.S. men’s national team open play against Paraguay in Los Angeles, President Trump responded with surprise.

“I didn’t know that number,” he told The New York Post on Wednesday night. “I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you.”

Trump’s response came just days after his close friend and ally, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, defended the tournament’s “dynamic” pricing.

“We have to look at the market,” Infantino reasoned. “We are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world. So we have to apply market rates. In the U.S., it is permitted to resell tickets as well. So if you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price.

“And as a matter of fact, even though some people are saying that the ticket prices we have are high, they still end up on the resale market at an even higher price, more than double our price.”

The reasoning is that it is more beneficial for FIFA to be the one to rake in the dollars as opposed to the resellers, as the organization at least funnels some of that cash back into “the development of men’s, women’s and youth soccer across all FIFA 211 member associations,” per a FIFA statement. Nonetheless, the general unprecedented pricing of tickets has sparked outrage and led to even greater inflation for fans hoping to use the resale market for highly sought-after matches.

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U.S. Opening Match Remains Widely Available

The U.S. men’s national team will play at least two World Cup matches at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium). | Michael Yanow/NurPhoto via Getty Images

FIFA has capped 100,000 tickets across the tournament at $60 to help with affordability; however, that accounts for less than 2% of total tickets available, with the vast majority of tournament seats costing hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars—in some cases, quadrupling the average prices of tickets for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

For the quickly approaching World Cup opener in the U.S., a June 12 match at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) between co-host USMNT and Paraguay, FIFA has priced the cheapest seats at $1,120, with mid-stadium Category 1 seats costing $2,750 and front Category 1 seats costing upwards of $4,000.

Despite the game’s significance and anticipated fanfare, seats for the U.S. opening match remain widely available, perhaps in no small part to the exorbitant pricing. In comparison, co-host Mexico’s opener at Mexico City Stadium on June 11 appears to solely have tickets for wheelchair user companions left. FIFA, however, pledges to continue to roll out more seats as the games draw closer, in an effort to avoid all seats being sold at once.

For the U.S. opener, though, an immediate sell-out does not appear to be of concern, as large portions of sections in the mid-stadium Category 1 seating—sometimes 12 rows deep—remain unclaimed. It is unclear yet whether or not FIFA will lower the prices, but if they don’t, there may be large holes in the crowd.

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