World Cup 2026 Predictions: Spain Win It, Final Result & Bracket
Spain are World Cup 2026 champions. They beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, Ferran Torres striking in the 106th minute to win a second world title. It is the outcome these World Cup 2026 predictions called before a ball was kicked.
We named Spain as our winner from the pre-tournament model onwards, and they delivered without losing a single match. Argentina, our predicted runner-up, pushed them to 120 minutes with ten men. Spain swept the individual honours too: Rodri took the Golden Ball and Unai Simon the Golden Glove, while Kylian Mbappe won the Golden Boot with 10 goals.
Here is the bottom line. The final was goalless for 90 minutes. Enzo Fernandez was sent off for a second yellow, and with Argentina down to ten, substitute Ferran Torres met a Nico Williams pass to settle it in the second period of extra time. Emiliano Martinez made 11 saves, a World Cup final record. Spain won it exactly as they won 2010: 1-0 in extra time.
This page has the final result, every award, the full knockout bracket, and how each of our predictions fared.
Last updated July 20, 2026.
World Cup 2026 Final Result and Awards
Everything from the final, and how the tournament finished.
| Award or result | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Champions | Spain (second World Cup, after 2010) |
| Final | Spain 1-0 Argentina (aet), July 19 |
| Final scorer | Ferran Torres, 106′ (assist: Nico Williams) |
| Runners-up | Argentina |
| Third place | England (beat France 6-4) |
| Fourth place | France |
| Golden Ball | Rodri (Spain); Silver Ball: Lionel Messi |
| Golden Boot | Kylian Mbappe (France), 10 goals |
| Golden Glove | Unai Simon (Spain), a record seven clean sheets |
| Our pre-tournament pick | Spain to win, Argentina runners-up |
Want every match from the tournament? Check the full World Cup 2026 schedule.
How the Final Was Won
Spain controlled the final without breaking it open. Argentina managed just one shot on target to Spain’s twelve, and Emiliano Martinez kept the champions at bay with 11 saves, a record for a World Cup final. The game was still goalless when Enzo Fernandez picked up a second yellow card, leaving Argentina to play out the rest with ten men.
The breakthrough came in the 106th minute. Nico Williams slid the ball across and Ferran Torres, on from the bench, finished first time. Torres became only the fifth substitute to score in a World Cup final and the first since Mario Gotze in 2014, who also beat Argentina with it. He is also just the second Barcelona player to score in a final, after Andres Iniesta’s winner in 2010.
With the World Cup added to their Euro 2024 title, this Spain side now has the look of the 2008 to 2012 team that won three major trophies in a row.
How Our World Cup 2026 Predictions Did
We published a winner pick before the tournament and updated it after every knockout round. Here is the honest scorecard, hits and misses.
| Our call | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Spain to win the World Cup | Correct |
| Argentina as runners-up | Correct |
| Morocco as a dark horse | Correct, reached the quarterfinals |
| Norway as a dark horse | Correct, knocked out Brazil |
| Germany to reach the quarterfinals | Wrong, out to Paraguay on penalties |
| Brazil to beat Norway | Wrong, Norway won 2-1 |
| Colombia over Switzerland | Wrong, Swiss won on penalties |
| France to win the third-place match | Wrong, England won 6-4 |
The headline call landed. The misses were mostly in the chaos of the Round of 32 and 16, where a 48-team bracket produced more upsets than any previous edition. We flagged them as they happened rather than quietly editing them out.
The Pre-Tournament Model vs the Final Standings
Opta’s supercomputer ran 25,000 simulations before a ball was kicked. Its favorite won it. Here is how the model’s top eight actually finished.
| Team | Pre-tournament win chance | Where they finished |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | 16.1% | CHAMPIONS |
| France | 13.0% | Fourth |
| England | 11.2% | Third |
| Argentina | 10.4% | Runners-up |
| Portugal | 7.0% | Out in the Round of 16 |
| Brazil | 6.6% | Out in the Round of 16 |
| Germany | 5.1% | Out in the Round of 32 |
| Netherlands | 3.6% | Out in the Round of 32 |
The model’s top four filled all four semifinal places, but its fifth to eighth picks all went out by the Round of 16. Source: Opta supercomputer, 25,000 pre-tournament simulations.
Revisit the two finalists and their runs below.
Spain Are World Cup 2026 Champions
Spain beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time. Tap a finalist to revisit their run, then see how it ended.
Select a finalist above to revisit their tournament.
Why Spain won it.
Spain went the entire tournament without losing a match. Rodri controlled it from the base of midfield and was named the tournament’s best player, winning the Golden Ball. Unai Simon took the Golden Glove with a record seven clean sheets. Lamine Yamal, still 19, was the outstanding teenager, and Mikel Merino turned into a super-sub, scoring late winners against Portugal and Belgium before Ferran Torres did the same in the final. It is a second World Cup to go with 2010 and Euro 2024.
How close Argentina came.
Argentina were 14 minutes from penalties with ten men. They had come from two goals down against Egypt, needed extra time against Switzerland and struck twice late to beat England, and in the final Emiliano Martinez produced a record 11 saves. Messi ends a record sixth World Cup with eight goals and the Silver Ball, but without a second straight title.
Full Knockout Bracket and Results
Every knockout result from the quarterfinals to the final.
| Match | Result |
|---|---|
| Quarterfinal: France vs Morocco | France won 2-0 |
| Quarterfinal: Spain vs Belgium | Spain won 2-1 |
| Quarterfinal: Argentina vs Switzerland | Argentina won 3-1 (aet) |
| Quarterfinal: England vs Norway | England won 2-1 (aet) |
| Semifinal: Spain vs France | Spain won 2-0 |
| Semifinal: England vs Argentina | Argentina won 2-1 |
| Third-place match: France vs England | England won 6-4 |
| FINAL: Spain vs Argentina | Spain won 1-0 (aet) |
The Round of 16 produced the tournament’s biggest shocks: Norway knocked out Brazil 2-1, Morocco beat Canada 3-0, Belgium hammered the USA 4-1, and Switzerland edged Colombia on penalties. Earlier, Paraguay had eliminated Germany on penalties in the Round of 32.
Want to replay it yourself? Use the World Cup 2026 Simulator. Set every knockout result and see who your path crowns.
Want a keepsake? Download the printable World Cup 2026 bracket with the completed results.
Golden Boot: Mbappe Takes It on 10
Kylian Mbappe won the Golden Boot with 10 goals, the most any player has scored at a single World Cup since Gerd Muller in 1970. He sealed it with a brace in the third-place match that also took him past Messi’s career World Cup scoring record, and Argentina’s blank in the final left Messi two short.
| Player | Country | Final total |
|---|---|---|
| Kylian Mbappe | France | 10 goals, Golden Boot winner |
| Lionel Messi | Argentina | 8 goals, Silver Ball |
| Jude Bellingham | England | 7 goals |
| Erling Haaland | Norway | 7 goals |
| Harry Kane | England | 6 goals |
Mikel Oyarzabal finished as Spain’s leading scorer on five, including the penalty that beat France in the semifinal.
The Dark Horses Who Lit It Up
None of our four pre-tournament dark horses reached the semifinals, but two of them produced the stories of the tournament.
Morocco. Reached the quarterfinals for the second straight World Cup, the first African team to make back-to-back last eights, knocking out the Netherlands on penalties and Canada 3-0 before France ended it.
Norway. Beat Brazil 2-1 through an Erling Haaland brace to reach their first ever quarterfinal, where a Jude Bellingham brace knocked them out in extra time.
Colombia and Japan. Colombia went out on penalties to Switzerland in the Round of 16 without losing in normal time. Japan fell to Brazil in the Round of 32. Paraguay were the other giant-killers, knocking Germany out on penalties.
The Co-Hosts: No Home Champion
All three co-hosts reached the Round of 16, beating our pre-tournament forecast, but none reached the quarterfinals.
| Host | Exit |
|---|---|
| USA | Round of 16, lost 4-1 to Belgium |
| Mexico | Round of 16, lost 3-2 to England |
| Canada | Round of 16, lost 3-0 to Morocco |
Canada made history with their first ever World Cup knockout stage win, over South Africa, and Mexico took England the distance at the Azteca before losing 3-2. Six host nations have won the World Cup, most recently France in 1998, but 2026 was not one of them.
How These World Cup 2026 Predictions Were Made
These predictions started with the Opta supercomputer’s 25,000 pre-tournament simulations and the pre-tournament FIFA world rankings, which had Spain, Argentina and France in the top three. They were updated after every knockout result with what actually happened on the pitch. When the model and the results disagreed, we told you both, and we left our wrong calls on the page.
No prediction here was betting advice. All percentages are simulation outputs, not odds.
World Cup 2026: The Bottom Line
Spain are World Cup 2026 champions, beating Argentina 1-0 after extra time through Ferran Torres at New York New Jersey Stadium. They did it unbeaten, and they did it exactly as they did in 2010. Rodri took the Golden Ball and Unai Simon the Golden Glove, Argentina were runners-up with Messi taking the Silver Ball, England finished third, France fourth, and Kylian Mbappe won the Golden Boot with 10 goals. Our pre-tournament call of Spain to win, with Argentina as runners-up, came in.
Think you could have called it better? Replay the tournament in the World Cup 2026 Simulator and find out.
World Cup 2026 FAQ
Who won the World Cup 2026?
Spain. They beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the final on July 19, 2026 at New York New Jersey Stadium, with Ferran Torres scoring in the 106th minute. It is Spain’s second World Cup, after 2010.
What was the World Cup 2026 final score?
Spain 1-0 Argentina after extra time. The game was goalless after 90 minutes. Ferran Torres scored in the 106th minute from a Nico Williams pass, with Argentina down to ten men after Enzo Fernandez was sent off.
Who scored in the World Cup 2026 final?
Ferran Torres, in the 106th minute, assisted by Nico Williams. He was the only scorer and became just the fifth substitute to score in a World Cup final, and the first since Mario Gotze in 2014.
Who won the World Cup 2026 Golden Ball?
Rodri of Spain won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. Lionel Messi took the Silver Ball. Spain’s Unai Simon won the Golden Glove with a record seven clean sheets.
Who won the World Cup 2026 Golden Boot?
Kylian Mbappe of France, with 10 goals. That is the most any player has scored at a single World Cup since Gerd Muller in 1970. He finished two clear of Lionel Messi on eight, with Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland on seven.
Who finished third at the World Cup 2026?
England. They beat France 6-4 in Miami on July 18, with Bukayo Saka scoring a hat-trick. It was the highest-scoring World Cup match since 1982 and the most goals ever in a third-place game. France finished fourth.
Did the World Cup 2026 predictions get it right?
Yes on the headline call. We picked Spain to win and Argentina as runners-up before the tournament, and that is exactly how it finished. We also called Morocco and Norway as dark horses. We got Germany, Brazil, Colombia and the third-place match wrong.
What was the biggest upset of the World Cup 2026?
Paraguay knocking Germany out on penalties in the Round of 32. Norway beating Brazil 2-1 and Morocco eliminating the Netherlands on penalties run it close.
How far did the USA, Mexico and Canada go?
All three co-hosts reached the Round of 16 and all three went out there. The USA lost 4-1 to Belgium, Mexico lost 3-2 to England, and Canada lost 3-0 to Morocco. No host nation reached the quarterfinals.
How many World Cups have Spain won?
Two. Spain won in 2010, beating the Netherlands 1-0 in extra time, and again in 2026, beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time. They also hold the Euro 2024 title.
Where was the World Cup 2026 final played?
At New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which holds about 82,500 fans. The final was on July 19, 2026.
Spain are the World Cup 2026 champions, and the pick we made before the tournament came in. Congratulations to La Roja on a second world title.
Hi, I like Ronaldo and i will be happy about that.
Loser. Ronaldo’s out…Messi all the way!!!
Hi I am Mohammed Kasim from Ethiopia I am a fan of Morocco and France and either of the two will be world champion