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live Updated Spain vs Argentina live updates: World Cup 2026 final latest score and news Spain vs Argentina Latest The 2026 World Cup winners will be crowned today at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Spain and Argentina meet in the final, bringing the curtain down on a 104-match tournament staged across North America.
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ET - Join the discuss tab or email us your thoughts: [email protected] Recent Golden Ball winners Awarded to the tournaments best player, the race for this years Golden Ball remains wide open and could be decided by events in todays final.
Here are the winners from the past five World Cups: - 2022: Lionel Messi (Argentina) - 2018: Luka Modric (Croatia) - 2014: Lionel Messi (Argentina) - 2010: Diego Forlan (Uruguay) - 2006: Zinedine Zidane (France) World Cup finals decided by penalties Ah yes, penalties the most dramatic way to decide a knockout match after 120 minutes of football.
Four matches at this World Cup have required a penalty shootout: Germany against Paraguay, the Netherlands against Morocco, Australia against Egypt and Switzerland against Colombia.
Could a fifth be on the cards today? Three previous World Cup finals have been decided on penalties: Brazils victory over Italy at the Rose Bowl in 1994; Italys win against France in Berlin in 2006, after Zinedine Zidanes infamous headbutt; and, of course, Argentinas triumph over France in Qatar four years ago.
It is a brutal way to lose but a euphoric way to win.
If todays final goes to penalties, expect plenty of drama.
Other awards at stake today Remember, the FIFA World Cup Trophy will not be the only prize presented in New Jersey today.
Several individual honours will also be awarded: the Golden Ball for the tournaments best player, the Golden Boot for its leading goalscorer, the Golden Glove for its outstanding goalkeeper and the Best Young Player award.
We will bring you the latest Golden Boot standings shortly, but several nations could be represented among todays individual winners.
Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi are the leading contenders for the Golden Boot and Golden Ball, although Messi remains in contention to claim both.
The Golden Glove also remains up for grabs, with Spains Unai Simon well placed to win it if he produces another strong performance today.
The same applies to 19-year-old team-mate Lamine Yamal, who has been consistently lively without producing eye-catching numbers and remains a leading candidate for the Best Young Player award.
Have Spain and Argentina ever played at a World Cup? Yes Spain and Argentina have met at the World Cup before.
Their only previous encounter at the tournament came during the 1966 group stage, when Argentina won 2-1.
Luis Artime scored twice for Argentina, either side of Pirris equaliser for Spain.
The nations have faced each other 14 times in senior internationals, with six wins apiece and two draws.
Todays final will therefore break the deadlock in their remarkably even head-to-head record.
World Cup finals this century: 2022 The immense hype only intensified in the build-up to the final.
In one corner were Argentina, among the tournament favourites and seemingly competing in Lionel Messis last chance to win the World Cup.
In the other were defending champions France, who had overcome a difficult start to the tournament and were seeking to become the first team in 60 years to retain the trophy.
Adding another layer of intrigue, Messi and Kylian Mbappe were club team-mates at Paris Saint-Germain.
For the first 79 minutes, the final appeared remarkably one-sided.
Argentina scored twice in the first half, with Messi converting a penalty won by Angel Di Maria before Di Maria finished a sweeping counter-attack to double their lead.
Then France stormed back from nowhere.
Randal Kolo Muani won a penalty after being brought down by Nicolas Otamendi, which Mbappe converted before scoring a magnificent volley from Marcus Thurams return pass only 97 seconds later.
That sent the match into extra time, when Messi appeared to have scored the winner by following up Lautaro Martinezs saved shot in the 108th minute.
But France equalised once more in the 118th minute, Mbappe completing his hat-trick with a second penalty after Gonzalo Montiel handled inside the area.
France then had a golden opportunity to win in the final seconds of extra time when Kolo Muani found himself one-on-one with Emiliano Martinez, only for the Argentina goalkeeper to make an extraordinary save with his outstretched left leg.
Martinez was decisive again in the shootout, saving Kingsley Comans penalty before Aurelien Tchouameni fired wide.
Montiel then converted the winning kick to complete Argentinas 4-2 shootout victory.
At long last, Messi was a World Cup winner at the end of what is widely regarded as one of the greatest football matches ever played.
World Cup finals this century: 2018 On the one hand, France confirmed their return to international footballs elite under Didier Deschamps, who had captained them to World Cup glory in 1998 and proved equally adept at harnessing the talent at his disposal as head coach.
Deschamps also benefited from several key players hitting peak form, including Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba.
Then there was a 19-year-old named Kylian Mbappe, who turned out to be rather good too.
On the other hand, Croatia had produced a remarkable run for a country of their size.
Led by Luka Modric, they reached the final after stunning England in the last four.
The match itself was a dramatic departure from the tight, low-scoring finals of previous tournaments.
Mario Mandzukics own goal gave France the lead before Ivan Perisic equalised, but Griezmanns 38th-minute penalty restored their advantage.
Pogba and Mbappe then struck in the second half as France eventually prevailed 4-2.
World Cup finals this century: 2014 Fresh from thrashing hosts Brazil 7-1 in a historic semi-final, Germany found South Americas other heavyweight, Argentina, far more difficult to break down in the final.
Fortunately for Germany, they possessed a supremely talented side capable of preventing the 27-year-old Lionel Messi from taking control of the contest.
The match went to extra time the third successive World Cup final to do so and the second in a row to finish goalless after 90 minutes before Mario Gotze became Germanys hero with a wonderful 113th-minute winner.
For much of the next eight years, it appeared that this had been Messis best opportunity to win the trophy that continued to elude him and remove any lingering doubt about his place among the games all-time greats.
Germany, meanwhile, seemed poised to begin an era of international dominance, with a generation featuring the World Cups newly crowned record goalscorer Miroslav Klose, forward Thomas Muller and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Instead, they have failed to reach the round of 16 at each of the three tournaments since.
World Cup finals this century: 2010 The only World Cup final of the 21st century contested by two nations yet to win the tournament ended with Spain overcoming the Netherlands.
Spains golden generation succeeded where decades of talented but underachieving La Roja sides had failed.
A country whose footballing loyalties are so often divided between Barcelona and Real Madrid united behind a team built around a core of Barcelona players and coached by Vicente del Bosque, a lifelong Real Madrid figure who placed great emphasis on harmony within the squad.
Spain took their traditional possession-based identity to its extreme, dominating the ball through a relentless succession of short passes.
They were not as devastating in attack as the great Barcelona side of that era, but their control of midfield meant they did not need to be.
Spain won all four of their knockout matches 1-0, overcoming the Netherlands in the final through Andres Iniestas 116th-minute winner.
World Cup finals this century: 2006 Apologies to man of the match Andrea Pirlo and decisive penalty-taker Fabio Grosso, but the enduring image of the 2006 World Cup final will always be Zinedine Zidanes headbutt.
In the final match of his career, the legendary France midfielder headbutted Italy defender Marco Materazzi in the 110th minute, with the score level at 1-1 in extra time, and was sent off.
France survived the remainder of extra time to force a penalty shootout, but Italy prevailed 5-3.
Zidanes moment of madness overshadowed a match in which he had given France the lead with an audacious Panenka penalty before Italy equalised through Materazzi.
World Cup finals this century: 2002 Remarkably, given their status as the two most successful nations in World Cup history, Brazil and Germany did not meet at the tournament until the 2002 final in Yokohama, Japan.
Brazil had been more convincing on their route to the final, while Germany needed successive 1-0 victories over the United States and co-hosts South Korea in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
Their win over the US was controversial, with the Americans denied a penalty for a handball on the goal-line.
Much of the pressure was on Brazil striker Ronaldo, who had struggled in the 1998 final after suffering a convulsive fit hours before kick-off, despite being widely regarded as the worlds best player at the time.
Having overcome several serious injuries in the years leading up to the tournament, Ronaldo delivered when it mattered most, scoring both goals in Brazils 2-0 victory over Germany to complete a remarkable redemption story.
Who are the recent World Cup champions? Whoever emerges victorious today will add their name to an illustrious list of World Cup winners.
Here are the champions from the past five tournaments and the results of their respective finals: - 2022: Argentina 3-3 France (Argentina won 4-2 on penalties) - 2018: France 4-2 Croatia - 2014: Germany 1-0 Argentina (after extra time) - 2010: Spain 1-0 Netherlands (after extra time) - 2006: Italy 1-1 France (Italy won 5-3 on penalties) As you can see, only one of the past five finals was decided within 90 minutes.
Not the first World Cup final in the U.S.
This is not the first World Cup final to take place in the United States.
The first was staged at the iconic Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, in 1994.
It brought together two proud and storied footballing nations in Brazil and Italy.
After 120 goalless minutes, the match went to a penalty shootout, which Brazil won 3-2.
It secured Brazils fourth World Cup title and was the first final in the competitions history to be decided on penalties.
Can this match live up to the last World Cup final? The World Cup final in Qatar four years ago was one of the most-watched sporting events in television history and it certainly did not disappoint.
In fact, it must surely rank among the greatest finals ever played in any football competition.
With 10 minutes remaining, Argentina led France 2-0 and appeared to be cruising towards victory after a largely one-sided contest.
Then Kylian Mbappe scored twice in the space of 97 seconds to bring the final spectacularly to life.
Lionel Messi restored Argentinas lead with his second goal in extra time, but Mbappe completed his hat-trick in the 118th minute to send a World Cup final to penalties for only the third time.
Argentina won the shootout 4-2 and Messi finally lifted the trophy he had craved above all others.
Controversy surrounding todays venue MetLife Stadium is a controversial choice to host the 2026 World Cup final.
Few would question New York Citys status as a host city it is the venue itself that has proved contentious.
Concerns about the pitch, the difficulty of travelling to and from the stadium and the availability of better alternatives most notably the Estadio Azteca have made the finals location a regular talking point throughout the tournament.
On the other hand, MetLife Stadium has staged some terrific matches.
The most recent was Norways 2-1 victory over Brazil one of the biggest upsets of the knockout stage while the venue has also welcomed England, France and Morocco.
Here is the full list of matches staged at MetLife Stadium: - June 13: Brazil 1-1 Morocco - June 16: France 3-1 Senegal - June 22: Norway 3-2 Senegal - June 25: Ecuador 2-1 Germany - June 27: England 2-0 Panama - June 30 (round of 32): France 3-0 Sweden - July 5 (round of 16): Norway 2-1 Brazil MetLife Stadium joins group of final hosts Home to the NFLs New York Giants and New York Jets, MetLife Stadium will stage the most high-profile sporting event in its history today.
In doing so, it will join a distinguished list of World Cup final venues.
Here are the five most recent: - 2022: Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar - 2018: Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia - 2014: Estadio de Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 2010: Soccer City, Johannesburg, South Africa - 2006: Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany Where is the final taking place? MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, has the honour of hosting the World Cup final.
For the duration of the tournament, it has been temporarily renamed New York New Jersey Stadium.
It has already staged seven matches, beginning with Brazil and Moroccos 1-1 draw one of five group-stage games held at the venue.
In the knockout phase, MetLife Stadium hosted Frances 3-0 victory over Sweden in the round of 32, followed by Norways surprise 2-1 win over Brazil in the round of 16.
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What time is the World Cup final? The World Cup final kicks off at 3pm ET (noon PT).
That is 4pm in Argentina, 9pm in Spain and 8pm in the UK.
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