World Cup 2026 Results: Final, Knockout Scores, Awards and Key Stats
Spain won the 2026 World Cup by beating Argentina 1-0 after extra time. Full knockout results, award winners, top scorers and record stats at a glance.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States was the largest in the tournament’s history: 48 teams, 104 matches and 16 host cities. It ended on 19 July 2026 with Spain beating Argentina 1-0 after extra time at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. This page sums up the tournament: the final, how both finalists got there, the semi-finals and third-place match, the individual awards and the numbers that made the 2026 edition stand out.
The 2026 World Cup at a glance
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dates | 11 June – 19 July 2026 |
| Hosts | Canada, Mexico, United States |
| Host cities | 16 (11 in the USA, 3 in Mexico, 2 in Canada) |
| Teams | 48 (first edition with 48) |
| Matches | 104 (up from 64 in 2022) |
| Champions | Spain (second title after 2010) |
| Runners-up | Argentina |
| Third place | England |
| Fourth place | France |
| Goals | 308 (2.96 per match) |
| Total attendance | 6,810,966 (65,490 per match) |
Four teams made their World Cup debut: Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan. DR Congo and Iraq qualified through the intercontinental play-offs.
The final: Spain 1-0 Argentina (after extra time)
- Date and venue: 19 July 2026, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
- Attendance: 80,663
- Goal: Ferran Torres (106’), set up by a headed pass from Nico Williams
- Referee: Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia), the first Slovenian to referee a World Cup final
- Player of the match: Ferran Torres
The final stayed goalless for 90 minutes, largely because of Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez. His 11 saves are the most recorded by a goalkeeper in a World Cup final. Argentina did not have a single shot in normal time, which had never happened to a team in a final before. Torres scored the winner in the first half of extra time, and Spain held on.
Spain became the first nation to hold the men’s and women’s world titles at the same time, having won the 2023 Women’s World Cup. For Lionel Messi and Argentina, it was a second lost final, after 2014. You can compare it with every earlier final in our list of all World Cup winners and finals.
How the finalists reached the final
Spain
| Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Group H | Cape Verde | 0-0 |
| Group H | Saudi Arabia | 4-0 |
| Group H | Uruguay | 1-0 |
| Round of 32 | Austria | 3-0 |
| Round of 16 | Portugal | 1-0 |
| Quarter-final | Belgium | 2-1 |
| Semi-final | France | 2-0 |
| Final | Argentina | 1-0 (aet) |
Spain won the trophy while conceding only one goal in eight matches.
Argentina
| Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Group J | Algeria | 3-0 |
| Group J | Austria | 2-0 |
| Group J | Jordan | 3-1 |
| Round of 32 | Cape Verde | 3-2 (aet) |
| Round of 16 | Egypt | 3-2 |
| Quarter-final | Switzerland | 3-1 (aet) |
| Semi-final | England | 2-1 |
| Final | Spain | 0-1 (aet) |
Semi-finals and third-place match
| Match | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Semi-final | 14 July | Spain 2-0 France |
| Semi-final | 15 July | Argentina 2-1 England |
| Third-place match (Miami) | 18 July | England 6-4 France |
The third-place match was one of the wildest games of the tournament. England led 4-0 at half-time through Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and two goals from Bukayo Saka. France fought back with two goals from Kylian Mbappé and one from Bradley Barcola. Saka completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot, and Jude Bellingham scored deep into stoppage time to make it 6-4. It was England’s best finish since they won the title in 1966.
On the way to the semi-finals, France beat Morocco 2-0 in the quarter-finals and England beat Norway 2-1 after extra time.
The host nations
None of the three co-hosts reached the quarter-finals. All three went out in the round of 16:
| Host | Eliminated by | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | Morocco | 0-3 |
| Mexico | England | 2-3 |
| United States | Belgium | 1-4 |
Mexico did set a record off the pitch. It became the first country to host the World Cup three times (1970, 1986, 2026). For the full history of hosts and how they performed, see every World Cup host country.
Individual awards
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Golden Ball (best player) | Rodri (Spain) |
| Golden Boot (top scorer) | Kylian Mbappé (France), 10 goals |
| Golden Glove (best goalkeeper) | Unai Simón (Spain) |
| Best Young Player | Pau Cubarsí (Spain) |
| FIFA Fair Play Award | Netherlands |
Spain’s players won three of the four individual performance awards.
Golden Boot: final top scorers
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kylian Mbappé | France | 10 |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 8 |
| 3 | Jude Bellingham | England | 7 |
| 4 | Erling Haaland | Norway | 7 |
| 5 | Ousmane Dembélé | France | 6 |
When players finish level on goals, assists are the first tie-breaker. That is why Bellingham finished ahead of Haaland. Mbappé is the first player to win the Golden Boot twice, after Qatar 2022. His two goals in the third-place match took his career total to 22 World Cup goals, one more than Messi’s 21. Both players passed Miroslav Klose’s long-standing record of 16. The full list is in our article on the all-time World Cup top scorers.
Records and firsts of the 2026 World Cup
- First 48-team World Cup and the first with a round of 32.
- First World Cup with three host nations.
- Highest total and average attendance in World Cup history. The 1994 tournament in the United States had held the average-attendance record.
- Highest goals-per-match average since 1970 (2.96).
- Mbappé became the all-time leading World Cup scorer and the first two-time Golden Boot winner.
- Messi played at his sixth World Cup (2006–2026) and extended his record for the most World Cup appearances.
- Emiliano Martínez set a record for saves in a final (11).
- The final was the first to include a half-time show, which stretched the interval to more than 27 minutes.
How the 48-team format worked
- Group stage: 12 groups of four teams. Each team played three matches.
- Qualification for the knockouts: The top two in each group (24 teams) and the eight best third-placed teams (8 teams) reached the round of 32.
- Knockout rounds: Round of 32 (28 June – 3 July), round of 16 (4–7 July), quarter-finals (9–11 July), semi-finals (14–15 July), third-place match (18 July), final (19 July).
- Group tie-breakers: If teams finished level on points, head-to-head points counted first, before overall goal difference.
The two finalists each played eight matches, one more than in the old 32-team format.
What comes next
The next World Cup is the centenary edition in 2030, hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain, with opening matches in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. As the hosts, Spain will defend their title at home. Read our guide to the 2030 World Cup for dates, stadiums and qualification.