CLAIM
Viral image of US President Donald Trump sleeping during FIFA World Cup final
RATING JUSTIFICATION
The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.
To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan team conducted a visual and forensic analysis using AI-detection tools and conducted a reverse image search to trace the source.
Multiple users have been sharing an image across social media platforms since July 20, 2026, allegedly showing US President Donald Trump sleeping during the FIFA World Cup final. However, the image is AI-generated.
On July 19, 2026, Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 after extra time to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup, ending Argentina’s hopes of becoming the first team in 64 years to successfully defend the title. Ferran Torres scored the decisive goal, while Rodri was named Player of the Tournament and Unai Simón won the Golden Glove. US President Donald Trump attended the final and later joined FIFA President Gianni Infantino in the post-match award ceremony, where they presented medals and trophies to the winners.
Trump often appears to doze off or rest his eyes during official events, cabinet gatherings, and public appearances. He appeared to doze in a cabinet meeting, caught forty winks during a meeting in the Oval Office, nodded off at a Memorial Day event, and fell into a light snooze during the NBA finals. The frequency of these moments has prompted ongoing political discussions and public scrutiny regarding his age, health, and stamina.
HOW IT STARTED
On July 20, a digital music platform, Datpiff, shared an image on X showing Trump sleeping during the FIFA World Cup final with the following caption: “It was only a matter of time.”
The post gained 383,000 views.
Another user shared the same visual with a similar context with the following caption: “Even the booos couldn’t keep him awake.”
The post attracted 163,000 views on X.
A Turkish user shared the same visual in a similar context on July 21, with the following caption: “President of the US, Donald Trump’s falling asleep during the World Cup final has become a subject of ridicule on social media. Why does Trump keep falling asleep?”
The post garnered 1.3 million views.
A Chinese user on X shared the same image with a similar caption, gaining 109,000 views
Another user on Instagram shared the same image with the following caption: “Trump getting dragged by the world is a beautiful way to start the week.”
The image was liked by 298,000 users.
A user on Threads also shared the same image with the caption: “Of course he fell asleep at The World Cup,” gaining 10,000 likes.
A news aggregator website, News Break, shared the same visual in a similar context, sourcing one of the viral claims mentioned above.
The article was titled: “Was Donald Trump Sleeping In The Stands At The World Cup Final.”
The image was shared by several other users on Facebook, YouTube, and X, further amplifying the virality, as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here; collectively accumulating 128,000 views.
METHODOLOGY
A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and keen public interest in the World Cup final and Trump’s health.
A keyword search was conducted to verify whether any credible US or international media outlets had reported that Trump fell asleep during the 2026 FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and Spain. However, the search did not yield any such reports.
A reverse image search on the viral visual yielded a New York Post article, published on July 19, 2026, titled “Trump seen marveling at World Cup trophy as he becomes first sitting US president to attend final.”
The article featured an image showing FIFA President Gianni Infantino showing the FIFA World Cup trophy to President Trump. The trophy is visible in the background, while the screen clearly displays the Argentina vs Spain final, matching the visuals shown in the viral image. In the image, Trump was not sleeping.
The full livestream of the 2026 FIFA World Cup final was reviewed to determine whether Trump slept at any point during the match. No such moment was found. At approximately the 11:25-minute mark, Infantino can be seen showing the FIFA World Cup trophy to President Trump. A frame captured from this moment closely matches the viral image. However, Trump is clearly awake and looking at the trophy.
A side-by-side comparison of the authentic frame and the viral image revealed a discrepancy. In the authentic footage, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, seated behind Trump, is not wearing glasses, whereas he appears to be wearing glasses in the viral image, indicating that the image had been manipulated.
The viral image was also analysed using multiple AI detection tools. Hive Moderation assessed it as 99 per cent AI-generated, while Deep AI classified it as 80pc AI-generated. TruthScan and Fake Image Detector also detected signs of AI-generated manipulation.
During the investigation, the original image of Infantino showing the FIFA World Cup trophy to President Trump was found to have been published by several media outlets, including Yahoo News. However, none of these reports or accompanying images showed or mentioned Trump sleeping during the FIFA World Cup final.
FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE
The claim that a viral image shows US President Donald Trump sleeping during the FIFA World Cup final is false.
The image is AI-generated.
EVIDENCE AND REFERENCES:
July 19, 2026, New York Post article:
July 20, 2026, Yahoo News article:
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/trump-seen-marveling-world-cup-191542078.html?guccounter=1