FIFA World Cup 2026: Spain beat Argentina in the final – results, awards, format and venues
Spain won the FIFA World Cup 2026, beating Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the final. Results, award winners, the 48-team format and all 16 venues.
May 2, 2025 · Updated Sep 26, 2026
Spain won the FIFA World Cup 2026, beating defending champions Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the final at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey, on July 19, 2026. It was Spain’s second world title and their first since 2010.
The 23rd World Cup ran from June 11 to July 19 and was the first with 48 teams and the first hosted by three countries: the United States, Mexico and Canada. England finished third and France fourth.
FIFA World Cup 2026 at a glance
| Winner | Spain (2nd title) |
| Runner-up | Argentina |
| Third place | England |
| Fourth place | France |
| Final | Spain 1-0 Argentina (aet), MetLife Stadium, July 19, 2026 |
| Teams | 48 |
| Matches | 104 |
| Goals | 308 (2.96 per match) |
| Golden Ball | Rodri (Spain) |
| Golden Boot | Kylian Mbappé (France), 10 goals |
| Golden Glove | Unai Simón (Spain) |
| Best Young Player | Pau Cubarsí (Spain) |
The final: Spain 1-0 Argentina
Spain dominated the ball, but Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez kept the final goalless for 90 minutes. Argentina were reduced to ten men when Enzo Fernández was sent off in the second half, and Ferran Torres scored the winner in extra time. Torres was named man of the match, and Martínez’s 11 saves were a record for a World Cup final. The attendance was 80,663.
The win made Spain the first country to hold the men’s and women’s World Cup titles at the same time; their women won in 2023. Barcelona were soon weighing up a sale of the final’s match-winner.
Semi-finals and third-place match
For the first time, the top four teams in the FIFA world ranking all reached the semi-finals.
- Semi-final: France 0-2 Spain (Oyarzabal pen., Porro), AT&T Stadium, Arlington, July 14
- Semi-final: England 1-2 Argentina (Gordon; Fernández, Lautaro Martínez 90+2), Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, July 15
- Third place: France 4-6 England, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, July 18. Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick and Mbappé two.
Golden Boot: Mbappé again
Kylian Mbappé scored 10 goals to win the Golden Boot for the second tournament in a row, the first player to win it twice. He also became the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer. Spain captain Rodri took the Golden Ball as the best player, ahead of Lionel Messi and Mbappé.
FIFA World Cup 2026 format
The FIFA Council unanimously changed the format from 16 groups of three to 12 groups of four before the tournament. That is how it was played:
- 12 groups of four teams.
- The top two in each group and the eight best third-placed teams went through.
- That made a 32-team knockout stage, starting with a new round of 32.
- 104 matches in total, up from 64 at a 32-team World Cup.
How the 48 places were shared
The three hosts qualified automatically. The other 45 places went through each confederation’s qualifying, with the last two decided in an intercontinental play-off.
| Confederation | Region | Places |
| AFC | Asia | 8 direct spots + 1 play-off place |
| CAF | Africa | 9 direct spots + 1 play-off place |
| CONCACAF | North, Central America, and the Caribbean | 6 direct spots (including the 3 hosts) + 2 play-off place |
| CONMEBOL | South America | 6 direct spots + 1 play-off place |
| OFC | Oceania | 1 direct spot + 1 play-off place |
| UEFA | Europe | 16 direct spots |
Four teams played at their first World Cup: Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan. Among the early qualifiers, Japan reached their eighth World Cup in a row, Iran their fourth in a row, and New Zealand their third after 1982 and 2010.
Host countries, cities and stadiums
Matches were played in 16 cities: 11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada. FIFA used city names for the stadiums during the tournament; the usual names are in brackets.
United States of America
- Atlanta – Atlanta Stadium (Mercedes-Benz Stadium)
- Boston – Boston Stadium (Gillette Stadium)
- Dallas – Dallas Stadium (AT&T Stadium)
- Houston – Houston Stadium (NRG Stadium)
- Kansas City – Kansas City Stadium (Arrowhead Stadium)
- Los Angeles – Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium)
- Miami – Miami Stadium (Hard Rock Stadium)
- New York/New Jersey – New York New Jersey Stadium (MetLife Stadium), venue of the final
- Philadelphia – Philadelphia Stadium (Lincoln Financial Field)
- San Francisco Bay Area – San Francisco Bay Area Stadium (Levi’s Stadium)
- Seattle – Seattle Stadium (Lumen Field)
Mexico
- Guadalajara – Estadio Guadalajara (Estadio Akron)
- Mexico City – Estadio Azteca
- Monterrey – Estadio Monterrey (Estadio BBVA)
Canada
- Toronto – Toronto Stadium (BMO Field)
- Vancouver – BC Place