Spain opens its World Cup campaign against Cape Verde in Atlanta on Monday, and the trip is carrying more than soccer. By July 19, if the favorites keep winning, Spain could be lifting the trophy at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey with a political feud with Donald Trump still hanging over every match.
That is why Spain Soccer is drawing attention now. Spain has won the World Cup once and the European Championship four times, and it arrives in the tournament with Pedro Sánchez still at odds with Trump over defense spending, Iran, Gaza, immigration and green energy. Trump has tried to turn the dispute into a test of loyalty, while Spain is trying to turn the tournament into something else entirely: a title run.
The dispute is not abstract. Spain kept defense spending at 2.1 percent of GDP last year while Trump pushed NATO partners toward a 5 percent target, more than double that level. He called Spain a laggard and said, “Maybe you should throw them out of NATO, frankly.” Spain also refused to let the U.S. use its joint military bases on Spanish territory for the offensive against Iran, and Sánchez called the attacks on Iran “unjustified and dangerous.”
The clash widened beyond security. In 2024, Spain joined Ireland and Norway in recognizing the state of Palestine, and the Sánchez government became the first in the EU to accuse Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration of genocide. Trump kept the pressure on in March, telling the New York Post, “We have a lot of winners, but Spain is a loser.”
Yet the political script is not as simple as Trump versus Spain. A public research institute poll found that two-thirds of Spaniards disapprove of Trump’s criticism of Spain, but a 40db survey showed 82 percent see him as a threat to world peace. That leaves Sánchez in a familiar position: confronting Trump in public, while governing a country that is listening closely but not always moving in lockstep.
For now, the next landmark is straightforward. Spain has to get through Cape Verde first, then keep winning until July 19. If it reaches MetLife Stadium, the final may end up doing more than deciding a champion. It could also decide how far this feud travels beyond the political stage.
