FIFA World Cup 2026: Spain Beat Argentina to Become Champions for the Second Time
Spain have won the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 23rd edition of the football tournament held across the United States, Canada, and Mexico for nearly five weeks. Spain lifted the World Cup trophy after 16 years by defeating defending champions Argentina 1–0 after extra time in the final played at MetLife Stadium in the New York-New Jersey area on Sunday night.
US President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino presented the World Cup trophy to Spain captain Rodri.
Final Match Details
After the regulation 90 minutes ended in a goalless draw, 30 minutes of extra time were added. In the 106th minute, substitute Ferran Torres received an excellent cutback pass from Nico Williams and scored with a left-footed strike just beneath the crossbar.
Earlier, Argentina’s Enzo Fernández was sent off after receiving a second yellow card during injury time, reducing Argentina to 10 players for extra time. Fernández became the sixth player to receive a red card in a World Cup final.
Spain registered 20 attempts on Argentina’s goal during the match, while Argentina’s first attempt came only in extra time. Argentina goalkeeper Emilio Martínez saved 12 attempts, setting a new record in a World Cup final.
Nico Williams scored for Spain in the seventh minute of extra time, but the goal was disallowed after the referee signalled a foul.
Spain’s Historic Record and Journey
Under head coach Luis de la Fuente, Spain won the World Cup for the first time since 2010. With this victory, Spain now hold both the European Championship title from 2024 and the World Cup title. Spain’s women’s team are also currently world and European champions.
Spain conceded only one goal in eight matches at the tournament, setting a new World Cup record for the fewest goals conceded by a championship-winning team.
According to the source, Spain’s unbeaten run reached 39 matches, including 29 wins and nine draws. However, another section of the source states that Spain remained unbeaten for 38 matches.
Spain surpassed Italy’s previous unbeaten record of 37 matches, comprising 28 wins and nine draws, which Italy achieved between October 2018 and September 2021.
Argentina’s hopes of winning the title for a second consecutive time and matching Brazil’s record of becoming world champions four times were not fulfilled. Argentina had previously won the title in 1978, 1986, 2002, and 2022.
Major Awards at the 2026 World Cup
Best Player—Golden Ball: Rodri, Spain
Top Scorer—Golden Boot: Kylian Mbappé, France — 10 goals
Best Goalkeeper—Golden Gloves: Unai Simons/Simon, Spain — seven clean sheets in eight matches and a record of more than 600 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal
Best Young Player: Pau Cubarsí, Spain
Silver Ball: Lionel Messi, Argentina
Bronze Ball: Kylian Mbappé, France
Prize Money
Along with the gold trophy, Spain received USD 51 million in prize money. The amounts received by the other teams were as follows:
-
Champions—Spain: USD 51 million
-
Runners-up—Argentina: USD 34 million
-
Third place—England: USD 30 million
-
Fourth place—France: USD 28 million
-
Fifth to eighth places: USD 20 million
-
Ninth to 16th places: USD 1.6 million, as stated in the source
-
17th to 32nd places: USD 12 million
-
Teams eliminated in the group stage: USD 10 million
Players’ Records
Kylian Mbappé
The 27-year-old French captain scored 10 goals and provided four assists in eight matches, becoming the first player to win the Golden Boot in two consecutive World Cups.
He scored twice against Senegal and twice against Sweden in the group stage, once from a penalty against Paraguay in the Round of 16, once against Morocco in the quarterfinal, and twice against England in the third-place match.
With 22 goals in 22 matches across three World Cup editions, Mbappé became the highest scorer in World Cup history. The previous records were held by Lionel Messi, with 21 goals in 33 matches, and Miroslav Klose, with 16 goals.
Mbappé also completed 100 appearances for France in the match against Iraq. He is France’s all-time leading scorer, with 66 goals in 106 appearances.
Lamine Yamal (Lamin)
The 19-year-old Yamal scored against Saudi Arabia at the age of 18, becoming the youngest Spanish player—and the ninth-youngest player overall—to score in World Cup history.
At 19 years and one day old, he became the second-youngest player in the past 60 years to win a penalty in a knockout match, following Michael Owen in 1998.
Yamal also recorded a tournament-high 30 successful dribbles.
Highest Scorers in World Cup History
-
Kylian Mbappé: 22 goals
-
Lionel Messi: 21 goals
-
Miroslav Klose: 16 goals
-
Ronaldo: 15 goals
-
Gerd Müller: 14 goals
-
Harry Kane: 14 goals
-
Just Fontaine: 13 goals
-
Pelé: 12 goals
Spain’s Journey at the 2026 World Cup
Spain’s journey from the group stage to the final was as follows.
The source gives different results for Spain’s semifinal victory over France, listing it as 2–0 in one section and 3–0 in another.
Group stage: Drew 0–0 with Cape Verde, defeated Saudi Arabia 4–0, and defeated Uruguay 1–0.
Round of 32: Defeated Austria 3–0.
Round of 16: Defeated Portugal 1–0.
Quarterfinal: Defeated Belgium 2–1.
Semifinal: Defeated France, with the result stated as either 2–0 or 3–0 in different sections of the source.
Final: Defeated Argentina 1–0.
Sports Football FIFA World Cup 2026