Spain 1-0 Argentina: How the 2026 World Cup Final Was Won at MetLife Stadium

FULL TIME: Spain 1-0 Argentina after extra time. Goals: Ferran Torres 106'. Spain are the 2026 world champions.

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The 2026 World Cup final kicks off Sunday, July 19 at 3:00 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT, 1 p.m. MT, 12 p.m. PT) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey — Spain vs Argentina, live on FOX in English and Telemundo in Spanish — and for Lionel Messi, 39 and playing what is widely expected to be his last World Cup game, it is one match for the perfect ending: back-to-back titles, a Golden Boot, and the final word in the greatest-of-all-time debate.

What Time Is the World Cup Final? How to Watch in the US

• Kickoff: Sunday, July 19, 2026 — 3:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. CT / 12:00 p.m. PT
• Venue: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey (capacity 82,500)
• TV: FOX (English) — free with a TV antenna — and Telemundo (Spanish)
• Streaming: FOX One (7-day free trial available), Peacock and the Telemundo app, plus live-TV services like YouTube TV, Fubo and Hulu + Live TV

Tune in early — FOX's pregame coverage starts hours before kickoff, and the broadcast is built like a Super Bowl.

Messi's Last Dance

Messi has never made it official — he says he is taking his future "day to day" — but at 39, Sunday is almost certainly the final World Cup match of his career; we've broken down every signal in Messi's last World Cup. In the semifinal against England he was rated a 9/10, assisted both goals in a stunning late rally, and his shrug celebration after the winner went viral within minutes. He has played every minute of all four of Argentina's knockout games. Win Sunday, and he becomes the first captain ever to lift back-to-back World Cups.

How Argentina Got Here

The defending champions' semifinal against England in Atlanta was the game of the tournament. Anthony Gordon put England ahead in the 55th minute and La Albiceleste looked finished — until Messi found Enzo Fernández for a 20-yard equalizer in the 85th, then picked out substitute Lautaro Martínez's stoppage-time header for the 2-1 winner. It's Argentina's seventh World Cup final, tying Brazil for second-most all-time, and their second in a row. You can trace their full bracket run, and Spain's, on our tracker.

How Spain Got Here

Spain's semifinal was the opposite kind of statement: total control. La Roja beat France 2-0 in Dallas — a Mikel Oyarzabal penalty won by Lamine Yamal in the 22nd minute, then a Pedro Porro strike in the 58th — while holding Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and company to 0.3 expected goals. The European champions topped their group, knocked out Belgium, and have conceded just one goal in the entire tournament. They arrive at MetLife unbeaten in 37 straight matches (28 wins, 9 draws) — a run stretching back two years that has tied Italy's all-time international record.

Head-to-Head and Predictions

These two have split 14 all-time meetings dead even — six wins each, two draws — but have met just once at a World Cup: a 2-1 Argentina win back in 1966. Sunday is also champion vs champion — reigning European champions against reigning Copa América holders. The markets lean Spanish: sportsbooks tracked by FOX Sports and ESPN list Spain around -164 to lift the trophy (roughly 8/13), Argentina at +134, with FanDuel pricing the 90 minutes at Spain +130, draw +190, Argentina +270. In short: the machine is favored over the miracle.

The Halftime Show: A World Cup First

For the first time ever, a World Cup final gets a Super Bowl-style halftime show — an 11-minute production curated by Coldplay's Chris Martin starring Madonna, Shakira, BTS and Justin Bieber, with Burna Boy, Gustavo Dudamel, the PS22 Chorus and a Coldplay appearance woven in, all benefiting FIFA's Global Citizen Education Fund. Full details in our halftime show lineup guide.

Golden Boot Stakes

The scoring race is historic: Messi and Mbappé are tied at eight goals apiece — never before have two players hit that number in one World Cup — with Messi holding the tiebreaker on assists, four to three, after his semifinal masterclass. Mbappé gets one last swing in Saturday's third-place game against England; Messi answers on the biggest stage of all. One goal Sunday likely settles it — follow the race to the wire on our Golden Boot tracker.

What a Win Means for Each Side

For Argentina: a fourth star, back-to-back crowns — something only Italy (1938) and Brazil (1962) have ever done — and, per FOX Sports, a fourth consecutive major-title triumph for this golden generation. For Messi, it's the storybook close no athlete has ever quite gotten.

For Spain: a second World Cup to pair with 2010, the Euro 2024 and World Cup trophies held simultaneously, and a coronation for 19-year-old Lamine Yamal as the face of football's next era. Either way, history gets written in New Jersey on Sunday.

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