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The World Cup final between Spain and Argentina will take place on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The match is expected to set several tournament records and will be played in front of more than 80,000 fans.
Organizers said they were monitoring smoke from wildfires in Canada that have affected air quality over parts of the United States in the buildup to the match, though no impact on the game itself was announced.
This year, the World Cup final will have a halftime stage show for the first time, similar to the performances seen at the Super Bowl.
The show, curated by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, will feature performances by Justin Bieber, Shakira, Burna Boy, BTS, Madonna and Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel.
FIFA hopes to raise $100 million from the show to help children around the world get better access to education and football.
There has been some debate about how long the performance will last. FIFA originally said the halftime show would be 11 minutes, but it is now expected to go over 20 minutes.
Last year’s Club World Cup final at the same stadium had a halftime show that lasted about 10 minutes, with the full break going over 24 minutes. According to the International Football Association Board rules, halftime should not be longer than 15 minutes unless the referee allows it.
There will also be a closing ceremony 90 minutes before kickoff, with appearances expected from Tom Cruise, Robbie Williams, and Nicole Scherzinger.
As in the previous four finals, the World Cup trophy will be transported to the stadium in a bespoke Louis Vuitton trunk featuring a gold-plated monogram design.
Ticket prices for the match have hit record highs. TicketData reported that the lowest price was $7,595 as of Friday, a 10% increase in three days. TickPick said the average resale price was $11,327, the highest ever for a U.S. sporting event, beating prices for the Super Bowl and NBA Finals.
For the first time, players on the 2026 World Cup-winning team will get championship rings. At the trophy ceremony, the coach and captain will receive a temporary replica ring along with the trophy and medals.
The champions will later receive 30 personalized rings. One side will show the World Cup trophy, and the other will have a design for the winning team.
This will be only the second World Cup meeting between Spain and Argentina. Their first was in the 1966 group stage, which Argentina won 2-1. Sunday’s final is also the first time the current European and South American champions have met in a World Cup final, and the first time the top two-ranked teams have faced off in the final since world rankings began in 1992.
Spain is aiming for its second World Cup title after winning in 2010. Argentina is hoping for a fourth championship, having won in 1978, 1986, and 2022.
If Spain wins, it will become the seventh country with more than one World Cup title. It would also be the first nation to hold both the men's and women's world championships simultaneously under coach Luis de la Fuente.
Spain has set defensive records this tournament, becoming the first team to keep clean sheets in six out of seven matches at a single World Cup. Goalkeeper Unai Simon has only let in one goal, during the quarterfinal win over Belgium.
At 65, De la Fuente has coached the most matches without a loss across the World Cup and European Championship, with 13 wins and one draw in 14 games. Spain’s unbeaten streak is now 37 matches, with 28 wins and nine draws, matching Italy’s record.
If Argentina wins, coach Lionel Scaloni could tie a record held by Italy’s Vittorio Pozzo, who was the first coach to win back-to-back titles in 1934 and 1938.
At 39, Lionel Messi could become only the second player to appear in three World Cup finals, after Brazil’s Cafu, who played in 1994, 1998, and 2002. If Messi scores, he will be the sixth male player to score in two different finals, joining Vava, Pele, Paul Breitner, Zinedine Zidane, and Kylian Mbappe. His teammate Alexis Mac Allister has played 13 World Cup matches without a loss, the most in tournament history.
In addition to the trophy, several individual awards will be presented, including the Golden Ball for best player, the Golden Glove for top goalkeeper, the Young Player Award, and the Fair Play Award. Messi is currently leading the race for the Golden Boot, given to the top scorer, ahead of France’s Kylian Mbappe, who won it in 2022 and will play in Saturday’s third-place match.
Slavko Vincic from Slovenia will referee the final, with fellow Slovenians Tomaz Klancnik and Andraz Kovacic as assistants. Adham Makhadmeh and Mohammad Alkalaf from Jordan will be the fourth official and reserve assistant referee.
At a Friday press conference at the Javits Center in New York, Scaloni said his team needs to play its best to win. He explained that Argentina has been studying possible opponents since December and will try to stop Spain from using its strengths while putting pressure where it thinks Spain is vulnerable.
Asked whether Sunday could be Messi's final World Cup appearance, Scaloni said he did not know and had not discussed the subject with the player.
Argentina’s captain and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez said he feels calm before the match and wants to reassure his teammates.
He pointed out that Argentina has averaged three goals per match in this tournament and has allowed one fewer goal than in the last World Cup.
Spain’s captain Rodri said he expects a physical match and that his team is ready to adapt, whether they need to defend, counterattack, or go on the offensive.
Spain and Argentina will play for the World Cup trophy on Sunday at 3 p.m. local time (10 p.m. GMT+3) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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