TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The world's grandest football tournament is nearing its last leg after winning semifinalists Argentina and Spain booked their tickets for their last face-off: the 2026 World Cup final.
After last night's late-rally 2-1 win, Argentina is heading to New Jersey to face Spain, who shut out defending finalist France with ease just the day before. As such, the reigning South American champion will take on la Albiceleste in what is set out to be a blockbuster showdown.
When and where is the 2026 World Cup final?
According to FIFA, Spain and Argentina will meet for the final match at the New York New Jersey Stadium (or the MetLife Stadium) in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday, July 19, 2026.
Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET (US time), 8:00 p.m. BST (UK time), and 02:00 a.m. WIB (Western Indonesia Time).
How to watch the 2026 World Cup final?
Around 82,500 fans are expected to pack the MetLife Stadium for the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, but fret not for those who could not fly to the US; you can watch the live stream.
Fans around the world are advised to visit the FIFA page to see which platforms are available to watch the World Cup final, dedicated to each respective region.
Meanwhile, for US fans, the final will air in English on Fox and in Spanish on Telemundo, but it's also available on YouTube TV, Fubo, and Hulu+ Live TV for anyone with a subscription.
In the UK, the BBC will live-stream the match across all of its platforms, including TV on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Additionally, fans in Indonesia will be seeing the World Cup final from the country's official rights holder, TVRI. The match is also available through the subscription-based Vidio platform.
Spain and Argentina's road to 2026 World Cup final
For La Roja, the World Cup has been a breeze of a near-flawless record. Spain has won nearly all of their matches in the Group Stage, barring a draw against Cabo Verde during their debut performance.
Argentina, on the other hand, won all their group stage performances, spurred by star player Lionel Messi, who notably scored a hat-trick against Algeria.
Citing ESPN, here are the full match records of both Spain and Argentina during the 2026 World Cup:
Spain
Group Stage:
June 15 - Spain 0-0 Cabo Verde
June 21 - Spain 4-0 Saudi Arabia
June 27 - Uruguay 0-1 Spain
Knockout Stage
July 3 (Round of 32) - Spain 3-0 Austria
July 7 (Round of 16) - Portugal 0-1 Spain
July 11 (Quarterfinal) - Spain 2-1 Belgium
July 15 (Semifinal) - France 0-2 Spain
Argentina
Group Stage
June 17 - Argentina 0-3 Algeria
June 23 - Argentina 2-0 Austria
June 28 - Jordan 1-3 Argentina
Knockout Stage
July 4 (Round of 32) - Argentina 3-2 Cabo Verde
July 7 (Round of 16) - Argentina 3-2 Egypt
July 12 (Quarterfinal) - Argentina 3-1 Switzerland
July 16 (Semifinal) - England 1-2 Argentina
Predicted starting lineups
According to FIFA, here are the possible starting lineups between Spain and Argentina for the 2026 World Cup final:
Spain (4-2-3-1): Unai Simon; Pedro Porro, Aymeric Laporte, Pau Cubarsi, Marc Cucurella; Rodri, Fabian Ruiz; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Alex Baena; Mikei Oyarzabal
Argentina (4-4-2): Emiliano Martinez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Tagliafico; Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez, Giuliano Simeone; Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez.
Read: France vs England World Cup Third-Place Playoff: Date, Records, and More
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