The 2026 FIFA World Cup came to a thrilling conclusion on Sunday, July 19, with Spain and Argentina squaring off in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
After a tied match at 0-0 at the end of scheduled time, Spain emerged the victor — and squashed Lionel Messi‘s World Cup reign — securing their second World Cup Final win in extra time, 1-0.
Spain’s victory came in front of a sold out MetLife Stadium with scores of soccer dignitaries and celebrities in attendance, including President Donald Trump, who was loudly boo’d after Jennifer Hudson‘s rendition of the U.S. national anthem.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump, 80, would be at the final on Thursday, July 16, despite not attending any other matches played in the United States.
“We look forward to the final match on Sunday, and I know the President looks forward to attending,” she said. “This is a fitting conclusion to a tournament that showcased America’s ability to host the world on the grandest stage.”
The World Cup final turned out to also be a showcase of some of the best soccer players in the world, including Argentina’s Messi.
Messi, 39, entered the match with confidence, having already won a World Cup with Argentina in 2022.
“We’ve been the best over these past four years, either you like it or not, and no matter what anyone says,” he said after Argentina defeated England in the semifinals on Monday, July 15. “Once again, we’ve established ourselves among the top two teams in the world. That proves that everything we’ve done is no fluke and that nothing was handed to us.”
He added, “Reaching two consecutive World Cup finals is something very few achieve, and this group did it. If we had lost to England, there would have been people coming out to spout some nonsense, but we didn’t give them the chance.”
On the other side, Spain entered on a mission itself as a country that has won the World Cup only once, in 2010.
“It means a lot, because we have only been [to the final] twice in our history so we want to win the World Cup,” Spanish defender Rodri said after Spain’s semifinal win over France on Tuesday, July 14. “We need to rest now and see what we can improve because we want to win the next one.”
