Donald Trump brutally ignored by USA captain Tim Ream during awkward phone call to Mauricio Pochettino

Donald Trump didn't quite get the reaction he would have hoped for when phoning the USMNT ahead of their World Cup opener.

Following Mexico's 2-0 win over South Africa and Canada's 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United States of America are now the only World Cup host yet to play their opening match.

The US begin their World Cup campaign as they welcome Paraguay to the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California, in the early hours of Saturday morning.

With matches against Australia and Turkiye to come later in the group stage, picking up three points against Paraguay could prove to be crucial in the US's hopes of finishing on top of Group D.

Ahead of the match, it was revealed that US President Trump would not be in attendance as he instead remains in Washington to prepare for another major sporting event this week.

But that didn't stop Trump from making his support known as he decided to call in to send "a message of support" ahead of the US's first World Cup match vs. Paraguay.

However, things didn't exactly go as well as the President would have liked as after Andrew Giuliani, the Executive Director of the White House's Task Force for the World Cup, passed the phone to manager Mauricio Pochettino and captain Tim Ream, things got awkward.

"I’m standing in front of 26 champions and a great coach… They’re ready to go and run through a wall," Giuliani as he passed the phone to Pochettino.

Speaking to Pochettino, Trump said: "I just called to say you’re a fantastic guy, a fantastic coach.

"I think you’ve got a real good chance of going all the way."

After grimacing and laughing at the comments, Pochettino replied: "Thank you so much for your support, Mr. President.

"We’re going to do everything to make you proud and all the people here in this country."

Meanwhile Ream, sitting right beside Pochettino, chooses to remain completely silent, failing to even acknowleged Trump in any way.

President Donald Trump called the USMNT ahead of their World Cup opener. pic.twitter.com/m35XuM25iU

— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) June 12, 2026

And it's safe to say that both Pochettino and Ream's reactions did not go unnoticed, as many fans took to social media to comment on the awkward clip.

Reacting to the video, one fan wrote on X: "Poch looks nervous as hell (probably because he knows almost all his players don’t want to hear from Trump) and Ream looks absolutely miserable. They couldn’t even show the other players. Love this team."

While another added: "They don’t look excited to have him invading their moment with his phone call."

One wrote: "Tim Ream doesn't look like he approves of this tomfoolery."

With another fan demanding: "We need the player angle i can only imagine how little they want to be there."

Why is Donald Trump not attending USA v Paraguay?

While US fans are focusing on their team's opening match, Trump is instead in Washington as the final preparations for UFC Freedom 250 are put in place ahead of the event on Sunday evening.

As part of the celebration for both the US's 250th anniversary of of independence and Trump’s 80^th birthday, the UFC are holding a historic card on the South Lawn at the White House on Sunday evening.

Ahead of the UFC White House event Trump reportedly has several duties that means that he is unable to leave the capital to enjoy the football on Saturday.