After 102 games across 16 cities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the 2026 FIFA World Cup has a final, with defending champion Argentina coming from behind for a 2-1 victory over England in Wednesday’s semifinal to advance to the title game against Spain.
The final matchup Sunday, July 19 at New York/New Jersey Stadium in East Meadowlands, NJ., means one country will win its second World Cup trophy; Spain won in 2010, while Argentina and its star Leo Messi won its first title in 2022 in Qatar.
Argentina booked its chance to defend its title after scoring two goals to erase a second-half deficit against England, which once again fell short of playing for a World Cup it won only once — 60 years ago. Messi assisted on both goals today.
Spain reached the final with a 2-0 victory over France in the other semifinal Tuesday; the latter country, a pre-tournament favorite, missed out by one game returning to the final for a third consecutive World Cup.
The Spain-Argentina matchup pits the defending champions of Europe and South America in a World Cup final for the first time.
Sunday’s final, on the 39th day of the 48-team tournament, will be celebrated with a closing ceremony ahead of kickoff, and a first-ever halftime show. See how to watch all of it below.
The Game
The final is certain to test viewership records in a tournament that has been a ratings hit for U.S. English-language rights holder Fox, which will be showing its 70th game on the network, and U.S. Spanish-language rights holder Telemundo, which will be showing its 92nd game.
Fox will begin coverage with its pregame show at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, with kickoff scheduled for 3 p.m. ET/noon PT. The game will air on Fox, Fox One and the Fox Sports app, and on Telemundo and streaming in Spanish on Peacock.
Closing Ceremony
The ceremony will take place before the final, with FIFA saying it begins 90 minutes head of kickoff.
So far, the list of performers features Post Malone, who was announced July 15 as the headliner. Previously, Tom Cruise, Laura Pausini, Nicole Scherzinger, Robbie Williams and YouTuber IShowSpeed were revealed as being part of the festivities.
Jennifer Hudson has been tapped to sing the pregame national anthem.
Halftime Show
The FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Halftime Show is a first for a halftime show at a World Cup. Coldplay’s Chris Martin curated the show, which will be headlined by Madonna, Shakira, BTS and Justin Bieber. Characters from The Muppets will also feature.
FIFA says more performers will be announced.
The show is being produced by Global Citizen in partnership with Live Nation and Done + Dusted.
