Spain and Argentina to contest 2026 World Cup final as Mbappé becomes all-time top scorer

Semi-finals and third place

Spain secured their place in the final with a 2-0 victory over France, while Argentina overturned a deficit to beat England 2-1 with two goals in eight minutes. Both semi-finals were played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In the third-place match on Saturday, England defeated France 6-4 in a frenetic encounter. Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick and Jude Bellingham struck the winner in stoppage time.

Mbappé becomes all-time top scorer

Kylian Mbappé scored twice in the third-place match, a performance that lifted him above every other player in World Cup history as the competition's all-time leading marksman. The French forward's record came despite his team's semi-final exit and the defeat in the consolation game.

Final preview: Messi faces Yamal

The final between Spain and Argentina is scheduled for Sunday at 15:00 local time (20:00 in Portugal) at MetLife Stadium. Argentina are aiming to become the first team to retain the World Cup since Brazil in 1962, while Spain chase their first title since 2010. Ahead of the match, Lionel Messi addressed the now-iconic photograph of himself holding a baby Lamine Yamal, taken years before the Spanish teenager became a global star.

That photograph is crazy, because it's hard to have a photo with a baby and then face him in a World Cup. The truth is it's crazy. He is one of the best in the world, without a doubt, and I wish him lots of luck, because that is also good for Barcelona.

Messi, who has scored eight goals in the tournament, said Argentina would try to prevent Yamal from showing his best version. Spain coach Luis de la Fuente recalled his first encounter with Messi, when the Argentine scored four goals in 15 minutes against his Sevilla youth side after a man-marker was substituted.

I'm going to tell you something very funny. I met Lionel Messi when I was coaching Sevilla's Honor Division team. We played a Copa del Rey match against Barcelona and they had spoken very highly of a boy named Messi... we did man-marking and at minute 70 it was 0-0. When the player marking him saw a yellow card, I decided to substitute him... and in 15 minutes, Messi scored four goals against us.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni played down the significance of his team's experience from the 2022 final, noting that Spain's players have also contested European Championship and Nations League finals.

They also have players who play on big stages. When the ball starts rolling, the players forget the pressure. I don't think it's a difficulty, on the contrary. It's not fundamental to have the experience of having played a final, because they also played those of the European Championship and the Nations League.

Storm disrupts Spain's final training

Spain's last training session before the final was suspended on Saturday due to a thunderstorm alert at the New York Red Bulls' training facility in New Jersey. The Spanish football federation (RFEF) said players completed a warm-up indoors in line with US storm safety protocols.

Club representation: Atlético leads the way

Atlético Madrid will have 10 players on the pitch in the final, the highest number from any club and the same club that has supplied the most finalists in every World Cup since 2018. The Spanish side's contingent includes Marcos Llorente, Álex Baena and Alejandro Grimaldo for Spain, and Nahuel Molina, Julián Alvarez and Thiago Almada for Argentina. Barcelona is the second most represented club with eight players, among them Lamine Yamal, Pedri and Gavi.