From Donald Trump’s attendance to the match winner, the short guide before football’s global showpiece in New Jersey.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 final will take place on Sunday, pitting Europe’s top-ranked team, Spain, against South America’s No 1 outfit, Argentina.
Spain will look to add a second world title to their collection, while Argentina want to collect a fourth trophy.
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Here is everything to know about the title clash:
The World Cup final between Spain and Argentina will be held on Sunday, July 19.
Spain and Argentina last played each other in an international friendly on March 27, 2018, at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid. Spain won the match 6-1.
The match starts at 3pm local time in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which is 19:00 GMT.
The World Cup final will be played at MetLife Stadium, home to two National Football League (NFL) teams: the New York Giants and the New York Jets. For the World Cup, the venue has temporarily been rebadged as New York-New Jersey Stadium.
This huge multipurpose stadium holds up to 82,500 spectators for football fixtures. The venue also hosted the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final and both semifinals.
FIFA has already confirmed Donald Trump’s attendance at the 2026 World Cup final.
The US president is expected to present the trophy to the winning side.
For the first time in the event’s history, the World Cup final will have a Super Bowl-style halftime show.
Entertainment stars such as Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira, BTS, Burna Boy, Gustavo Dudamel and the PS22 Chorus featuring Coldplay will perform.
The performance itself is expected to run for about 11 minutes, with the halftime break potentially extended to up to 30 minutes. Separately, the final kickoff will also be preceded by a closing ceremony starting 90 minutes earlier. Entertainers such as Tom Cruise, Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger are expected to feature.
Opta’s supercomputer has calculated a 45.1 percent probability of Spain winning the final in regulation time, while Argentina are assessed a 29.4 percent chance of victory.
The probability of going to extra time – or potentially penalties – is 25.4 percent.
The next tournament will take place across Morocco, Spain and Portugal. A venue city for the final has yet to be established, with Madrid the frontrunner.
As part of the tournament’s 100th-anniversary celebrations, a centenary match will be played in Uruguay – which hosted the first tournament in 1930 – Argentina and Paraguay.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/7/16/fifa-world-cup-final-2026-date-time-and-venue-trump-prediction?traffic_source=rss