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≡ FIFA WORLD CUP ≡
The most amazing, thrilling, entertaining and compelling game of the final weekend of the historic 2026 FIFA World Cup was England’s 6-4 win over France in the third-place match. But it was Spain that took home the trophy with a single goal after 106 minutes.
● Spain 1, Argentina 0 (after extra time) ● The FIFA World Cup final had pretty good weather conditions at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey with 80 F temperatures and 42% humidity.
Argentina was looking for some history with a second consecutive title, not done since Brazil – and Pele – in 1958 and 1962, in their seventh World Cup final (three prior wins in 1978-86-2022). Spain was in its second final, after winning in 2010.
The game had some action early, with two shots from the right side by Spain teen striker Yamine Lamal in the fifth minute and then a counterattack by Argentina, blunted by Spain keeper Unai Simon, who came way out to meet the challenge and clear the ball from Argentina star Lionel Messi.
Spain settled in to its typical possession game and by the hydration break, had 62% possession and was credited with one shot to none for Argentina. Spain continued in possession for long stretches into the 40th, but could not score. The half ended 0-0, with Spain probing and Argentina defending; Spain had 65% possession and was credited with all three shots.
With the Super Bowl-style halftime show expanding the break, play resumed 27 minutes later, instead of the normal 15.
Spain continued to probe and had a couple of chances, but no goals through the hour, and Argentina still with no shots. A Yamal cross in the 67th led to a header by striker Ferran Torres in front of goal that was caught by keeper Emiliano Martinez. The hydro break follows with Spain at 64% possession and now 8-0 on shots. But still tied.
Incredibly, still no shots for Argentina at the 90-minute mark while Martinez had eight saves. At last, an Argentine shot came at 90+2 – but not credited – and on the ensuing possession, there was a foul by midfielder Enzo Fernandez that sent Spanish defender Pau Cubarsi flying at 90+3 and he was handed a second yellow, meaning he was disqualified and Argentina was now playing with 10.
Spain kept the pressure on, but could not score, notably with Martinez making two more saves – for 10 total, a World Cup final record – at 90+7 and 90+8. Spain finished regulation with 66% of the ball and an astounding 15-0 shots total. This is the first 0-0 final in regulation since 2014 and fourth overall (1994-2010-14).
On to extra time, and striker Nico Williams scored for Spain in the 96th as the ball got away from Martinez in the box after another shot, but a foul was called on sub midfielder Mikel Merino. Spain had most of the possession and Merino barely missed on a header, but after 105 minutes, 0-0, with 67% of the ball and 19-0 on shots for Spain.
Suddenly at the start of the second extra period, it changed. In the 106th (0:39 in), off a long cross by defender Pedro Porro from right to left, Williams got to the ball near the left endline and headed a pass back to Ferran Torres, who sent a left-footed rocket past Martinez for the score. 1-0 on the 20th shot for Spain, against none for Argentina.
Argentina was all on offense now, but Spain continued to hold possession. Torres scored again in the 113th on a long lead pass from Yamal, but it was called for offside. A Messi blast in the 117th from beyond the box smashed off of Merino’s face and he was down, but stayed in.
A free kick led to an Argentine cross in front of the Spain net in the 120th, resulting in a corner from Messi and then another corner with sub forward Giuliano Simeone skying the ball over the bar. Spain held on for the 1-0 win and their second World Cup.
They were, decidedly, the better team: 65% possession and 20-2 on shots. Martinez was outstanding in goal, with a World Cup Final record of 11 saves, but Simon finished with a World Cup tournament record of seven shutouts.
Messi was controlled, with just 15 touches in the first half, 14 in the second half, eight in the first extra time period but 17 in the second extra period for 54 total.
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The World Cup end-of-tournament awards announced during the post-game ceremonies included the Golden Ball winner, for the best player: Spanish midfielder Rodri. Plus:
● Golden Boot for top scorer: Kylian Mbappe (FRA)
● Golden Glove for top keeper: Unai Simon (ESP)
● Best Young Player: Pau Cubarsi (ESP: 19)
The ceremony included the leaders of the three host countries: U.S. President Donald Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
≡ PANORAMA ≡
TicketData.com reporting showed the price for the final came down a little, but was still high at the end:
● $913 for the Group Stage
● $1,015 for the Round-of-32
● $1,453 for the Round-of-16
● $1,188 for the Quarterfinals
● $2,246 for the Semifinals
● $582 for Third Place
● $7,477 for the Final
The presence of Argentina in the semis and final raised prices. While the Spain-France semi had a lowest “get in” price of $1,315, it was $3,177 for Argentina and England on Wednesday, rising from $2,599 the day before.
So, for the final:
● $12,200 on 22 June
● $8,987 on 01 July
● $7,224 on 15 July
● $9,025 on 18 July
● $7,477 on 19 July
Through all 104 matches, the median (not average) of the lowest “get-in” prices was $916.
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World Cup sales and merchandising continued unabated right through the final:
● FIFA sold places at a news conference ahead of the final, for $80 for adults and $35 for children. Italy’s Il Fatto Quotidiano reported on the event held at the Javits Center in New York:
“Yet another attempt to turn football into a show has ended badly. Taking advantage of the Fanatics Festival, FIFA and Fanatics organized a conference – event open to the public (different from the traditional press conference, which started late) – with fans acting as paying spectators and an audience of sports and entertainment celebrities … But what was supposed to be one of the tournament’s most symbolic events turned into one of the most unpleasant episodes of this World Cup.”
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente was booed by Argentine ticket buyers; moreover, this was not the actual press conference with the media, but turned out to be a separate event.
● Souvenir pieces of the turf from the final were being sold at $450 apiece, drawing criticism from New Jersey politicians, pointing to millions of taxpayer dollars to install it.
However, FIFA told The Athletic, “The turf sale initiative is a host city-led initiative, not a FIFA revenue driver as incorrectly reported in recent days. FIFA receives a nominal royalty fee (<5%) for use of its IP, but a larger share of the revenue generated by this program goes to the NYNJ Host City Committee. In addition, only approximately five yards of turf will be utilized for this program. Claims that FIFA stands to generate $11 million in revenue are categorically false.”
● FIFA announced that for the first time, the championship team will receive rings, styled after the traditional rings given to winners of American league champions in baseball, basketball, football and on.
Thirty will be given to the winning team and 1,996 will be sold to fans (of course), at $12,000 each.
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Not surprisingly, FIFA said that its “revenues to top USD 15 billion in revenue this year for the 2023-2026 cycle,” essentially all from the 2026 World Cup tournament. That’s up from an expected $11 billion forecast in FIFA’s budget.
The hyper-priced tickets, hospitality and resale markets were reported as the primary drivers.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI) told representatives of FIFA’s national associations:
“I think I can say that this FIFA World Cup here in particular has opened a lot of doors, a lot of opportunities, a lot of possibilities. This will have an impact on what we can do all over the world, but the revenues and the financial economic success come only if the sporting side is right. If we do the right thing from a sporting point of view.
“So, when we see the success of this FIFA World Cup, we need to really be aware of the fact that the FIFA World Cup is the pinnacle of football in the world, and that everyone in football, big or small, depends on the success of the FIFA World Cup. We need to be very, very careful, and put the FIFA World Cup always at the centre of everything we do in football. Everything else has to come after that and with that together.
“When we will speak about calendars, about when (and) how to organise events, we need to care about all of you. FIFA is a democracy. The members have to decide, and you will decide what you think is right for the future. There are discussions about whether we should increase more (from 48) to 64 (teams), but this will be debated and this will be discussed.”
Infantino is up for election for a third full term in 2027.
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FIFA reported that its Social Media Protection Service, a digital filtering project available to all teams, coaches, players and officials participating in FIFA tournaments, scanned 53 million posts and comments on unspecified social platforms and identified seven million “potentially harmful posts and comments since the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026.”
A follow-on to the expansion of the tournament: more than “200,000 abusive and threatening posts and comments” were reported for action to platforms; this is compared to “just” to 19,600 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
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