The final weekend of the 2026 FIFA World Cup is here, with France and England playing for third place on Saturday before defending champion Argentina takes on 2010 winner Spain for the title on Sunday.
Here’s everything you need to know about the last two matches of the 39-day, 48-team tournament in North America (all times Pacific).
Saturday’s third-place game
France vs. England
Where: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla.
Time: 2 p.m. PDT
TV: Fox, Telemundo | Streaming: Fox One, Peacock
The buzz: This is a game neither team really wants to play. The disappointment of missing the final is fresh and the weather report calls for temperatures in the high 80s with 68% humidity and a chance of thundershowers — a brutal South Florida summer day. The $2-million difference in prize money between third and fourth place isn’t likely to make any of that more palatable. Still, the game will have meaning for France since it will be the final match for coach Didier Deschamps, the winningest World Cup manager in history. And captain Kylian Mbappé, tied with Argentina’s Lionel Messi for most goals in the tournament (8), has a chance to become the first player to win multiple Golden Boots. England is playing in the consolation final for the second time in the last three World Cups; it lost to Belgium 2-0 in 2018. But this one probably will sting even more since the Three Lions were five minutes away from their first final in six decades before collapsing against Argentina. This could be the last World Cup game for England’s Golden Generation of Harry Kane, Jordan Pickford, John Stones and Jordan Henderson.
Sunday’s championship game
Spain vs. Argentina
Where: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
Time: Noon
TV: Fox, Telemundo | Streaming: Fox One, Peacock
The buzz: Argentina has a chance to become the first repeat World Cup champion since Brazil in 1962, which would give Messi another grand achievement in his sixth and likely final World Cup. Messi enters the weekend as the all-time leader in goals, assists and games played in tournament history. But unbeaten Argentina hasn’t made things easy, with its winning goals in the four knockout-round games coming in the 92nd minute or later. Spain, the reigning European champion, will be playing to put a second star on its jersey to match the one it won in 2010. La Roja, with the sixth-youngest roster in the World Cup, got to the final on the strength of spectacular defense led by Unai Simón, who has six clean sheets in seven games. Mikel Oyarzabal is the team’s leading scorer with five World Cup goals. The teams had one common opponent in this tournament, tiny Cape Verde, a World Cup debutante. It played Spain to a scoreless draw in its opener, then held Argentina to a 1-1 standoff into extra time before falling.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Source: Yahoo Entertainment
