The 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico is almost upon us.

This sporting spectacle – the largest ever World Cup, with 48 teams – will generate many memorable moments.

Mexico will get the tournament underway in its capital city on June 12, hosting South Africa.

Apart from the on-field action, much attention will be paid to the politics of the World Cup and to two major political players – US President Donald Trump and his FIFA counterpart Gianni Infantino.

But before a ball is kicked, an earlier media encounter is stubbornly lodged in the mind which sheds light on the cosy relationship between two presidents with much in common.

An increasingly close relationship

This is the bizarre sight of Trump receiving the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA)’s inaugural Peace Prize from Infantino in December 2025:

After Trump failed to receive his much-coveted and unashamedly demanded Nobel Peace Prize, Infantino jumped into the breach.

The two presidents make an odd couple in some respects.

Character assessments of Trump are, as he might put it, a dime a dozen. Outside his lovestruck MAGA support base, a survey of world opinion in his first presidency found him much disliked as the quintessential “ugly American”.

It has arguably become worse since, in view of his violent language and apparent narcissistic God complex.

By contrast, Infantino is a suave multilingual Swiss-Italian lawyer following in the footsteps of compatriot Joseph Sepp Blatter – his former, more........

© Japan Today