Tom Cruise did his best to inspire the crowd before the Spain-Argentina World Cup final on Sunday with a dramatic speech about how soccer — or football as hardcore fans insist on calling it — brings people from all over the globe together.
“This is football. This is unity,” Cruise declared, while lifting up his sunglasses and gesturing to the fans in MetLife Stadium. “And this — this is greatness.”
The Top Gun: Maverick star’s address was broadcast by Telemundo and Fox in the States. A cinematic soundtrack played in the background as Cruise spoke on the field, which apparently added to the emotional lead-up to the big match.
“Football is a language spoken without words, a force that unites people,” Cruise said a moment earlier in his pep talk. “That turns strangers into friends and reminds us of what we ALL have in common,’
Cruise then broke out a little bit of Spanish to honor the two finalists, “Espana y Argentina.” But he said the memories from the 2026 World Cup will be shared forever by “each and every one of us.”
The Hollywood icon gave the speech during a star-studded Sunday in New Jersey. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attended the match, and stars like Kevin Hart, Timothée Chalamet, and Kylie Jenner, were there; Madonna, Shakira, Justin Bieber and BTS performed at halftime, while sports stars like Knicks guard Jalen Brunson and 7-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady were also spotted.
Trump told Fox before the match he didn’t want to pick a side… but he also couldn’t see himself putting money on Spain, considering Argentina had legend Lionel Messi leading the way.
“I knew you were gonna ask, I thought about it a lot… I hate to get involved, even though politically it doesn’t matter so much. The head of Argentina is a friend of mine, he’s done a terrific job,” Trump said. “But I would say that it’s hard to bet against Messi.”
Watch above via Telemundo.
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