⚽

2026 FIFA World Cup

United States · Canada · Mexico — it all comes down to one match

🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇲🇽

🏆 Final · Sun Jul 19 · MetLife

🏆 The Final · 🇪🇸 Spain vs 🇦🇷 Argentina · Sun Jul 19

⚽ The Road to MetLife

⚽ Thursday · Jul 9

🏁 Result

Full-time🇫🇷 France 2–0 🇲🇦 Morocco

📍 Match Info

VenueGillette Stadium · Foxborough, MA

RoundQuarterfinal

🔑 How it went

RecapKylian Mbappé led France past Morocco in a rematch of the 2022 semifinal — Les Bleus win it again.

📺 Broadcast

TVFOX / Telemundo

⚽ Friday · Jul 10

🏁 Result

Full-time🇪🇸 Spain 2–1 🇧🇪 Belgium

📍 Match Info

VenueSoFi Stadium · Inglewood, CA

RoundQuarterfinal

🔑 How it went

RecapSpain edged Belgium’s veterans to reach the last four; the golden generation bows out.

📺 Broadcast

TVFOX / Telemundo

⚽ Saturday · Jul 11

🏁 Result

Full-time🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England 2–1 🇳🇴 Norway (AET)

📍 Match Info

VenueHard Rock Stadium · Miami Gardens, FL

RoundQuarterfinal

🔑 How it went

RecapSchjelderup stunned England early, but a Jude Bellingham brace — including the extra-time winner — sent the Three Lions through.

📺 Broadcast

TVFOX / Telemundo

🏁 Result

Full-time🇦🇷 Argentina 3–1 🇨🇭 Switzerland (AET)

📍 Match Info

VenueArrowhead Stadium · Kansas City, MO

RoundQuarterfinal

🔑 How it went

RecapMac Allister opened, Ndoye levelled, then 10-man Switzerland cracked in extra time — Julián Álvarez’s golazo and a Lautaro dagger.

📺 Broadcast

TVFOX / Telemundo

⚽ Tuesday · Jul 14

🏁 Result

Full-time🇪🇸 Spain 2–0 🇫🇷 France

📍 Match Info

VenueAT&T Stadium · Arlington, TX

RoundSemifinal

🔑 How it went

RecapMikel Oyarzabal converted a 22nd-minute penalty after Lamine Yamal was felled in the box, and Spain’s defence did the rest — a sixth clean sheet of the tournament shut out Mbappé and France.

📺 Broadcast

TVFOX / Telemundo

⚽ Wednesday · Jul 15

🏁 Result

Full-time🇦🇷 Argentina 2–1 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

📍 Match Info

VenueMercedes-Benz Stadium · Atlanta, GA

RoundSemifinal

🔑 How it went

RecapAnthony Gordon put England ahead early in the second half, but Messi inspired a late Argentina surge — Lautaro Martínez struck the winner in the 92nd minute in front of 68,239.

📺 Broadcast

TVFOX / Telemundo

🥉 Saturday · Jul 18

📍 Match Info

VenueHard Rock Stadium · Miami Gardens, FL

Kickoff5:00p EST

RoundThird-place playoff

🛣️ How they got here

FranceLost 2-0 to Spain in the semifinal.

EnglandLost 2-1 to Argentina in the semifinal.

⭐ Players to Watch

Watch🇫🇷 Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé · 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham

🔑 Storyline

StorylineTwo of the tournament favourites meet in the consolation match — both will feel this was the one that got away.

📺 Broadcast

TVFOX / Telemundo

🏆 Sunday · Jul 19

📍 Match Info

VenueMetLife Stadium · East Rutherford, NJ

Kickoff3:00p EST

Round🏆 FINAL

🛣️ Road to the final

SpainBeat Portugal, Belgium and France in the knockouts — six clean sheets and counting.

ArgentinaSurvived Cape Verde and Egypt, then Switzerland (AET) and a late comeback vs England.

⭐ Players to Watch

Watch🇪🇸 Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Mikel Oyarzabal · 🇦🇷 Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martínez, Julián Álvarez

🔑 Storyline

StorylineSpain chase a second star and their first title since 2010; Argentina try to become the first back-to-back champions since Brazil in 1962 — in what is almost certainly Messi’s last World Cup match.

📊 Tale of the tape

🇪🇸 Spain1× champion (2010) · reigning European champions · tournament’s meanest defence

🇦🇷 Argentina3× champions (1978, 1986, 2022) · holders · the tournament’s highest-scoring side

📺 Broadcast

TVFOX / Telemundo · stream on Peacock / Fox One

📖 the final · 🇪🇸 spain vs 🇦🇷 argentina

⚽ Research, history & the road ahead

🏆 The Final

Spain vs Argentina

🇪🇸 Spain · 1× World Champion (2010)

Pedigree: world champions in 2010 and reigning European champions (Euro 2024); entered 2026 as the world’s top-ranked side and are chasing a second star.
Road to the final: held 0-0 by debutants Cape Verde in the group, then beat Portugal 1-0 (Merino, late), Belgium 2-1 in the quarterfinal, and France 2-0 in the semifinal.
The semifinal: Mikel Oyarzabal converted a 22nd-minute penalty after Lamine Yamal was brought down, and Spain kept a sixth clean sheet of the tournament to shut out Mbappé.
Key men: Lamine Yamal (18), Pedri, Nico Williams, Rodri, Mikel Oyarzabal.
Did you know: this is Spain’s first World Cup final since they won it in 2010 — and their defence has been the meanest in the tournament.

🇦🇷 Argentina · 3× World Champions (1978, 1986, 2022)

Pedigree: defending champions, chasing back-to-back titles for the first time since Brazil in 1962.
Road to the final: Messi’s hat trick lit up the group; then 3-2 knockout thrillers over Cape Verde and Egypt, a 3-1 extra-time win over Switzerland, and a 2-1 comeback against England.
The semifinal: Anthony Gordon put England ahead early in the second half, but Argentina struck twice late — Lautaro Martínez’s 92nd-minute winner sent 68,239 in Atlanta into delirium.
Key men: Lionel Messi (all-time record 21+ WC goals), Lautaro Martínez, Julián Álvarez, Alexis Mac Allister.
Did you know: Argentina are the tournament’s highest-scoring side — and this is almost certainly the final match of Messi’s World Cup career.

🏆 The tournament at a glance

The biggest World Cup ever — 48 teams, 104 matches, hosted by 🇺🇸 USA, 🇨🇦 Canada and 🇲🇽 Mexico — is down to two.
The Final: 🇪🇸 Spain vs 🇦🇷 Argentina — Sunday, July 19, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ, 3:00 PM ET.
Third place: 🇫🇷 France vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England — Saturday, July 18, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, 5:00 PM ET.

⚡ How the last four became two

🇪🇸 Spain 2-0 🇫🇷 France (Dallas) — Oyarzabal’s first-half penalty and a sixth clean sheet ended the world No. 1’s run.
🇦🇷 Argentina 2-1 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (Atlanta) — Gordon struck first, but two late Argentina goals, capped by Lautaro in the 92nd, broke English hearts once again.
Both semifinals went against the favourites on paper — the two remaining sides are the only ones left standing from a field of 48.

🔥 What’s at stake in the final

Spain chase a second World Cup and their first title since 2010 — completing a Euro-and-World-Cup double after Euro 2024.
Argentina chase back-to-back World Cups, a feat nobody has managed since Brazil in 1962, and a fourth star overall.
Messi’s last dance: at (almost certainly) his final World Cup, Lionel Messi has a chance to close his career with a second consecutive trophy.
Youth vs experience: 18-year-old Lamine Yamal against the 21-goal all-time World Cup record holder — the tournament’s defining contrast.

🥇 Golden Boot race

Lionel Messi 🇦🇷 went into the semifinals as the frontrunner on 8 goals, and has one more match to add to it.
Erling Haaland 🇳🇴 finished on 7 — Norway’s quarterfinal exit ended his tournament.
Kylian Mbappé 🇫🇷 and Harry Kane 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 still have the third-place match to climb the list.
Spain’s scoring has been spread around — Mikel Oyarzabal’s semifinal penalty was the goal that booked the final.

📊 Final quick facts

Both finalists are past champions: Argentina (3 titles) and Spain (1).
All three co-hosts (🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇲🇽) were eliminated in the Round of 16.
Brazil and Germany both missed the semifinals for the first time in World Cup history — Norway beat Brazil, Paraguay knocked Germany out on penalties.
The 2026 semifinal field was the first ever made up of the top four FIFA-ranked teams — France, Argentina, Spain and England.
A Spain win would make them the fifth nation with multiple titles; an Argentina win would tie them with Germany and Italy on four.

👋 The road behind them

Semifinals: 🇫🇷 France and 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England — meeting again in Saturday’s third-place match.
Quarterfinals: 🇲🇦 Morocco (the last African side), 🇧🇪 Belgium, 🇳🇴 Norway (Haaland’s Cinderella run) and 🇨🇭 Switzerland.
Round of 16: all three co-hosts, plus Brazil and Portugal — Cristiano Ronaldo’s likely World Cup farewell.