2026 — The Tournament Of A Lifetime

World Cup News

The frustration of some Argentina players boils over at the end of the 2026 World Cup final, after the 2022 winners are beaten by Spain in extra time.

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Ferran Torres scores the only goal of the game as Spain dominate Argentina 1-0, to win their second FIFA World Cup at the New York New Jersey Stadium.

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It was the triumph of an idea, an identity. Of an unshakable and patient faith. And when it was over, Spain’s new generation having emulated the one from the 2010 World Cup, all of those legendary names, there was simply delirium for them. Spain were the only team that turned up to play this World Cup final, from the first whistle to the last in extra time. Argentina were damned by their lack of ambition even before they had Enzo Fernández sent off towards the end of the regulation time. It was extraordinary to report that they did not have an attempt on goal until the 115th minute. Spain did not let them play. Just as they have barely let any of their opponents do so during the course of this tournament. Their miserly defence has been the cornerstone of everything. They have been breached just once in their eight matches. The question that came to pound concerned their ability to find a way through the sky blue and white ranks. It was the only question. Spain stayed true to their style; to who they are. The possession. The cohesive movements. The control. When they found the answer, it was the moment when they knew that a second World Cup triumph was about to become gloriously real. The goal came in the 106th minute and it was nothing less than they deserved. Pedro Porro crossed deep and it was a wonderful header back by the substitute Nico Williams. It teed up another replacement, Ferran Torres, for the opportunity of his lifetime. The finish was high and true. The Argentina manager, Lionel Scaloni, looked ready to cry. It was a white knuckle ride that carried his team to this stage, defined by late goals and a never-say-die spirit. At no point in any of their knock-out games were they ahead in the 90th minute. Argentina flickered in the very closing stages. The substitute Guiliano Simeone lashed a half chance high. But there would be no successful defence of the title they won in 2022; no fairytale sign-off for Lionel Messi. He could not suppress the tears as he gazed at the Argentina support afterwards. Messi and his team had won their previous three tournaments – two Copa Américas either side of the last World Cup. They had not lost a knockout tie since the 2019 Copa América. They got what they deserved here. There was an ugly flashpoint after full time when Leandro Paredes, who had come on as a substitute, was given a red card for grabbing the Spain replacement Eric García by the throat. Argentina’s reaction in defeat was shameful. They turned their backs on the Spain players as the trophy was presented, preferring to keep their eyes on the fans behind one of the goals. Donald Trump, who did not want to leave the stage as the Spain captain, Rodri, got his hands on those six kilograms of solid gold bliss, was not the only person to make a spectacle of himself. It was quite the show overall in the land of the spectacular show. It started with a ceremony, one to officially close the most bloated tournament there has been, which took in all manner of performances. Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of the US anthem before kick-off was certainly something; ditto Tom Cruise’s speech about the beautiful game. We kicked off six minutes late. There was plenty more at half-time. The action on the field did not keep pace. Argentina had one flicker in the early running when the Spain goalkeeper, Unai Simon, left his line to deal with a Julián Álvarez throughball for Messi. The clearance was straight to Álvarez but his first touch was poor. That was pretty much it from them in forward-thinking terms. The game was all about Spain’s dominance of the ball. Nobody cherishes it quite like them. Rodri set the tempo at the back of the midfield while Lamine Yamal had a few eye-catching moments. He went close at the outset. Spain finessed their patterns. They tried to wear Argentina down. Did anybody enjoy the half-time show? It was a strange detail that Madonna, one of the headline acts, did not actually perform on the pitch. Instead, there was big-screen video of her singing in the back of a car which was driven by Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Spain pressed high. They forced turnovers. They probed. Argentina could not free themselves from the choke hold. The chances started to come for Spain after the hydration break in the second half of normal time and Argentina were indebted to their goalkeeper, Emi Martínez. He finished with 11 saves, some of them excellent. Were Argentina trying to win the World Cup without taking a shot? Scaloni could scarcely have built a lower block, although he doubled down still further in the 101st minute when he introduced Marcos Senesi for Álvarez and went to 5-3-1. Fernández was guilty of losing his composure. Booked in the 83rd minute for dissent, he was asking for trouble when he left something in on Pau Cubarsí to send the Spain defender spinning. Argentina just about reached extra time when Martínez dived to repel a Lamine Yamal free-kick. His best saves before that had denied Cubarsí, Aymeric Laporte and Williams. Spain turned the screw in extra time. Martínez continued to resist, saving once again from Williams. Spain were denied when Mikel Merino, on as a substitute, was adjudged to have fouled another replacement, Nicolás Otamendi, moments before Williams swept home. It was a generous decision for Otamendi, who appeared to throw himself to the ground. Merino glanced wide from a Williams cross when gloriously placed. Spain’s pressure reached the point when the breakthrough felt inevitable. Torres provided the release, the joy. He would also run through in the 113th minute to beat Martínez again, only to be pulled back for offside. The goal he did score was all that mattered. Luis de la Fuente’s unstarry team have a second one on their shirts.

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Ferran Torres breaks the deadlock, scoring in extra time for Spain in the World Cup final against Argentina at the New York New Jersey Stadium.

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Madonna, BTS, Justin Bieber, and Shakira entertain the crowd at half-time in the World Cup final, with a special appearance from Ronaldo and Ronaldinho at the New York New Jersey Stadium.

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The rules are simple. Each day there's a new footballer and the challenge is to guess who they are in as few attempts as possible. After each wrong guess you unlock a new clue. Guess the answer after as few clues as possible to score more points. Three is a good score, four or five points is exceptional. So take part and return for more tomorrow. Today's player and clues set by BBC Sport's Adam Millington. After more quizzes? Go to our dedicated Football Quizzes and Sports Quizzes pages and sign up for notifications to get the latest quizzes sent straight to your device. What information do we collect from this quiz?Related topicsFootballFIFA World Cup 2026Play more quizzesAll our Who Am I? quizzes in one place Quiz: Name every nation at the Fifa World Cup 2026 Can you name the 10 Lionesses with most England caps? World Cup quiz: Name these top nations' leading scorers

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Bukayo Saka scores a hat-trick as England beat France 6-4 in a thriller to record their best men's World Cup finish since 1966.

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England manager praises his players as England beat France 6-4 for third place in the 2026 World Cup.

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Where to start with this rollercoaster of a match? Thomas Tuchel had promised a reaction but he could not have imagined the manner of the response from England, albeit against a France team firmly on their sunloungers during an incredible first half in which they conceded four times. Yet with Kylian Mbappé on the hunt for his second successive Golden Boot in Didier Deschamps’ last match in charge of Les Bleus , even that lead courtesy of goals from Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and two from Bukayo Saka almost wasn’t enough. Mbappé began the comeback straight after half-time before adding his second after Bradley Barcola’s strike. The 27-year-old has become the first male player to reach double figures at a World Cup since Gerd Müller in 1970. Over to you, Lionel. Thankfully for England, Saka’s late penalty to complete his hat-trick and Jude Bellingham’s seventh of the tournament after he came off the bench ensured that an afternoon that had begun with boos for Tuchel from some supporters ended with England claiming third place at the World Cup for the first time. Although the scars of their semi-final loss to Argentina will remain, they at least rounded off their campaign with a memorable victory. Miami’s leaden skies throughout the day had matched the mood of both teams as they tried to put on a brave face after semi-final exits. As well as his attempt to overhaul Lionel Messi, Mbappé had extra motivation along with his teammates to send Deschamps off into the sunset with a victory after 14 years at the helm. The Real Madrid star published a message on social media in the hours before kick-off thanking the man who guided France to a second world title in 2018 and came so close four years later. “Today is your last dance,” he wrote. Tuchel signed a contract extension before this tournament and has indicated he wants to lead England into Euro 2028 on home soil. However after a tetchy pre-match press conference here on Friday night when the German doubled down on the conviction that he would make the same decisions again given the chance against Argentina, the next two years look set to be a test of his ability to rebuild his reputation among England’s supporters. The reception Harry Kane and the rest were given after England received their bronze medals suggested the players’ effort over the past five weeks has been fully appreciated. Like Deschamps, Tuchel made seven changes from the semi-final, with Rice surprisingly named captain in place of Kane despite carrying an injury for the entire tournament. Arsenal, who have serious concerns about how long William Saliba is likely to be sidelined with a back injury, will not have been delighted to find Saka starting either. There was also intrigue in the absence from the bench of Kobbie Mainoo, the Manchester United midfielder who has not played a minute at the World Cup. The Football Association said he was injured, although Jordan Henderson was listed among the substitutes despite the broken arm sustained celebrating England’s win over Mexico. At first, France seemed to be suffering from more of a hangover. Désiré Doué’s loose pass in the third minute was seized upon by Rice and his finish left Mike Maignan with no chance. Mbappé managed to tread on the ball just as he was speeding through on goal before Saka had a goal from an exquisite Morgan Rogers pass chalked off for offside. It needed a block from Maxence Lacroix to halt Saka’s next attack before Konsa beat his marker, Adrien Rabiot, to nod in Rice’s corner. England looked as if they had a point to prove. Marcus Rashford embarrassed Warren Zaïre-Emery with a nutmeg before unleashing a powerful shot that was well saved by Maignan. At the other end, Dean Henderson brilliantly denied Mbappé, who had cut in from the left, before another save ended up kickstarting the move for England’s third on the break. There was something comical about the way Rashford and Saka took turns trying to score before the latter eventually did. A brilliant pass from Eberechi Eze set up Saka’s second on the stroke of half-time. France’s players looked stunned, even if Mbappé tried his best to laugh it off. Deschamps responded by making four changes at the break, including Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola. They had pulled one back within three minutes when Mbappé finished Olise’s through ball after the England substitute Ollie Watkins lost possession. It was not long before Barcola was sprinting back to halfway with the ball tucked under an arm after making it 4-2. Mbappé added his second after exchanging passes with Olise on the edge of England’s area and suddenly Tuchel’s side were really wobbling. Somehow Olise could not hit the target to force extra time after toying with England’s defence. Bellingham and Elliot Anderson had been summoned from the bench by that stage and it was left to the former and Saka, who did not get off the bench against Argentina, to hammer the final nails into France’s coffin. Between times Dembélé pulled another goal back in this incredible spectacle that will surely go down as the game of the tournament.

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England assistant coach Anthony Berry tells BBC Sport how proud he is of his squad as they lead France 4-0 at half-time in the 2026 World Cup third-place play-off at the Miami Stadium.

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Captain Declan Rice gives England an early lead, scoring in the third minute against France in the World Cup third-place play-off at Miami Stadium.

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The 23rd final in World Cup history took place on Sunday 19 July, 2026. Can you name all the cities that have staged the showpiece game in its 96-year history? After more quizzes? Go to our dedicated Football Quizzes and Sports Quizzes pages and sign up for notifications to get the latest quizzes sent straight to your device. What information do we collect from this quiz?Related topicsFootballFIFA World Cup 2026Play more quizzesQuiz: Name every nation at the 2026 World Cup Which World Cup team are you? Take our quiz World Cup quiz: Name every player in England's squad World Cup quiz: Name every player in Scotland's squad