New Delhi, July 20 -- EAST RUTHERFORD - Before Argentina and Spain had touched the ball in the World Cup final on Sunday, Donald Trump had already declared himself the tournament's real winner.

"It turned out we were a soccer country, and I think it's going to remain," the president said Friday at a reception in Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, where FIFA chief Gianni Infantino sat nearby. "This has really brought the world together."

Marine One swept over MetLife Stadium on Sunday morning as spectators waited in lines that stretched well beyond the stadium perimeter. Al Jazeera reporters described two-hour waits to clear the initial security checkpoint, with others waiting more than three hours. Accredited journalists were denied entry des...