President Claudia Sheinbaum arrived in New York on the night of Saturday, July 18, to attend the 2026 World Cup final between Argentina and Spain at MetLife Stadium, where she will share a box with United States President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
It is the first time the three North American leaders have coincided at the same event since the World Cup group draw on December 5, 2025, according to El Financiero. Sheinbaum framed the trip in diplomatic terms. "It is important diplomatically that all three countries that hosted this World Cup are here," she said in a message shared on social media, as reported by El Financiero. Sheinbaum added that her presence demonstrates the strong coordination and collaboration with the United States government. The image of the three leaders sharing a box comes days before a new round of USMCA negotiations is set to begin in Mexico City, following Washington's decision on July 1 not to extend the treaty for an additional 16 years and instead open a framework of annual reviews.
The president was welcomed in New York by a group of Mexican citizens residing in the city, who greeted her with mariachis, noisemakers, and flags, according to Milenio. "Thank you for welcoming me with such warmth in New York. The feeling is more than mutual," Sheinbaum posted on social media after the reception. The trip encountered complications: the cancellation of commercial flights due to atmospheric conditions caused by wildfire smoke from Canada forced the use of an aircraft from the Ministry of National Defense (Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional), as reported by Aristegui Noticias. United States Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson welcomed the president on behalf of the Trump administration. FIFA ruled out canceling or relocating the final despite the poor air quality in the New York metropolitan area.
Sheinbaum is scheduled to return to Mexico on Sunday night. The final brings to a close a tournament that distributed matches across 16 venues in the three host countries, leaving as its concluding image the three leaders seated together in the same box at the largest stadium in the New York metropolitan area.
This article was written with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.