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World Cup winner calls on Trump for help after visa rejected on eve of the final
Jul 18 2026 08:48 · By Samuel Meade,Sports Brand Writer · 11 Reads
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Spain's
World Cup
winner Joan Capdevila has been denied entry to America and has put out a post pleading for
Donald Trump
's help.
The former full-back was looking to head to New York for the final, which will be played on Sunday, but has hit a major issue with his travel and has called on the President of America to sort the situation.
Capdevila's visa has been denied which means he will not be able to enter the country. The World Cup, played largely in America but also in Canada and Mexico, has seen its fair share of visa issues,
with player's families unable to attend.
Now the Spanish World Cup winner has been caught out - and is desperately seeking a resolution. He said on social media: "I NEED HELP @realDonaldTrump. They just told me that I can't travel to the final with my kids because my ESTA has been denied.
"Can anyone help me with this? You have no idea how excited I was to be there with all my teammates from 2010 and this team to cheer them on. I can’t believe they won’t let me enter the U.S. ... and that I’ll miss a moment like this with my kids, who love soccer so much... If anyone knows how to fix this, I’ll be eternally grateful.”
Capdevila also tagged U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a separate post asking for help.
In an interview with Spanish radio station COPE, Capdevila has stated that his visa was denied because of a match that he played in Iran 10 years ago. In 2016, a team of
La Liga
legends faced a team of all-stars from Iran in Tehran - and this looks to have counted against him.
Spain are bidding to add to the World Cup they won in 2010, which remains their only triumph. Sandwiched between that was Euro victories in 2008 and 2012 as a Golden Generation of players dominated the international stage.
Capdevilla started in the final win over the Netherlands in South Africa and was hoping to join his team-mates from that night as the Spanish seek to down Argentina.
The current team, which boasts the likes of Rodri and Lamine Yamal, has embarked on a similar path to the Class of 2010 having won the Euros two years before reaching the World Cup final.
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