World Cup final bracket: Spain vs. Argentina matchup, schedule and path to the championship

Forty-eight teams began the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Now only Spain and defending champion Argentina remain.

The World Cup final is set after Spain delivered a commanding 2-0 semifinal victory over France and Argentina scored twice late to stun England 2-1. La Roja will meet Lionel Messi and La Albiceleste on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, where Spain will pursue its first title since 2010 and Argentina will try to become the first repeat champion since Brazil in 1962.

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England claimed third place Saturday with a wild 6-4 victory over France. Bukayo Saka scored a hat trick, while Jude Bellingham sealed the win in stoppage time. Kylian Mbappé scored twice in defeat to become the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer.

Below is the complete World Cup final schedule, semifinal results and each finalist’s path to the championship match.

World Cup knockout bracket

Thursday, July 9 – Quarterfinals

Final: France 2, Morocco 0

Friday, July 10

Final: Spain 2, Belgium 1

Saturday, July 11

Final: England 2, Norway 1
Final: Argentina 3, Switzerland 1

Tuesday, July 14 – Semifinals

Finale: Spain 2, France 0

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Wednesday, July 15

Final: Argentina 2, England 1

Saturday, July 18 – Third-place match

Final: England 6, France 4

Sunday, July 19 – Final

Spain vs. Argentina, 3 p.m. ET – MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Round of 16 full results

Saturday, July 4

Final: Morocco 3, Canada 0
Final: France 1, Paraguay 0

Sunday, July 5

Final: Norway 2, Brazil 1
Final: England 3, Mexico 2

Monday, July 6

Final: Spain 1, Portugal 0
Final: Belgium 4, USA 1

Tuesday, July 7

Final: Argentina 3, Egypt 2
Final: Switzerland 0, Colombia 0 (Pens: 4-3)

Round of 32 final bracket, results

Sunday, June 28

Monday, June 29

Tuesday, June 30

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Wednesday, July 1

Thursday, July 2

Friday, July 3

How every World Cup group finished, with final standings

Group A

Qualified: Mexico, South Africa
Eliminated: Czechia, South Korea

Mexico finished atop Group A with a perfect nine points and will face Ecuador in the Round of 32 on Tuesday at Mexico City Stadium.

South Africa claimed second place with four points and advances to face Canada on Sunday in Los Angeles.

South Korea finished third but did not earn one of the tournament’s eight best third-place berths. Czechia finished bottom of the group and was eliminated.

Group B

Qualified: Switzerland, Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Eliminated: Qatar

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Switzerland won Group B and will face Algeria in the Round of 32.

Canada finished second and advances to face South Africa on Sunday in Los Angeles.

Bosnia and Herzegovina also moved on as one of the tournament’s best third-place teams after finishing with four points. It will face the United States on Wednesday in Santa Clara, California.

Qatar was eliminated after finishing bottom of the group.

Group C

Qualified: Brazil, Morocco
Eliminated: Haiti, Scotland

Brazil won Group C and will face Japan in the Round of 32 on Monday in Houston.

Morocco finished second and advances to face the Netherlands on Monday in Monterrey, Mexico.

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Scotland finished third but did not earn one of the tournament’s eight best third-place berths. Haiti was eliminated after going winless in the group.

Group D

Qualified: USA, Australia, Paraguay
Eliminated: Türkiye

The United States finished atop Group D and will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on Wednesday in Santa Clara, California.

Australia claimed the group’s second automatic berth after playing Paraguay to a scoreless draw and will face Egypt on July 3 in Dallas.

Paraguay finished third with four points and is moving on as one of the tournament’s eight best third-place teams. It will face Germany on Monday in Boston.

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Group E

Qualified: Germany, Ivory Coast, Ecuador
Eliminated: Curaçao

Germany had already clinched first place in Group E ahead of Thursday’s matches and will face Paraguay on Monday in Boston.

Ivory Coast’s 2-0 win over Curaçao secured second place and a spot in the knockout stage against Norway.

Ecuador’s 2-1 upset of Germany wasn’t enough to move into the top two, but Ecuador finished third and will advance as one of the tourney’s best third-place teams. It plays Mexico on Tuesday in Mexico City.

Curaçao finishes bottom of the group with one point and is eliminated.

Group F

Qualified: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden
Eliminated: Tunisia

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The Netherlands clinched first place in Group F with a 3-1 win over Tunisia and will advance to the Round of 32 as the group winner. The Dutch next face Morocco on Monday in Monterrey, Mexico.

Japan secured second place after a 1-1 draw with Sweden, doing enough to stay ahead of Sweden in the race for the automatic knockout berth. The Samarai Blue will face Brazil in the Round of 32.

Sweden finished third and qualified as one of the tournament’s eight best third-place teams. Its reward? A matchup vs. France on Tuesday in New Jersey.

Group G

Qualified: Belgium, Egypt
Eliminated: New Zealand, Iran

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Belgium claimed first place in Group G with a 5-1 win over New Zealand on Friday and will face Senegal in the Round of 32 on Wednesday in Seattle.

Egypt advanced as the group runner-up after a 1-1 draw with Iran and will face Australia on Friday in Dallas.

Iran finished third but was eliminated after Algeria’s draw with Austria pushed it down to ninth among the tournament’s third-place teams. New Zealand finished bottom of the group and was eliminated.

Group H

Qualified: Spain, Cape Verde
Eliminated: Uruguay, Saudi Arabia

Spain clinched first place in the group with a 1-0 win over Uruguay. The Spaniards will take on Austria on Thursday in Los Angeles.

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Cape Verde locked up second place with a 0-0 draw — its third of the tournament. Next up is reigning champion Argentina on Friday in Miami.

Uruguay and Saudi Arabia are both out of the tournament after finishing with two points each.

Group I

Qualified: France, Norway, Senegal
Eliminated: Iraq

France won Group I and will face Sweden in the Round of 32 on Tuesday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Norway finished second and advances to face Ivory Coast on Tuesday in Dallas. Senegal finished third and also advanced as one of the tournament’s best third-place teams, setting up a Round of 32 matchup with Belgium on Wednesday in Seattle.

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Iraq finished bottom of the group and was eliminated.

Group J

Qualified: Argentina, Austria, Algeria
Eliminated: Jordan

Argentina finished atop Group J with nine points and will face Cape Verde in the Round of 32 on Friday in Miami.

Austria and Algeria also advanced after their group-stage finale ended in a draw. Austria will face Spain on Thursday, while Algeria will face Switzerland on Thursday in Vancouver.

Jordan finished bottom of the group and was eliminated.

Group K

Qualified: Colombia, Portugal, Congo
Eliminated: Uzbekistan

Colombia played Portugal to a scoreless draw to finish atop Group K with seven points. Its reward is a Round of 32 matchup with Ghana on Friday in Kansas City.

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Portugal finished second and will face Croatia on Thursday in Toronto.

DR Congo also advanced as one of the tournament’s best third-place teams and will face England on Wednesday in Atlanta. Uzbekistan finished bottom of the group and was eliminated.

Group L

Qualified: England, Croatia, Ghana
Eliminated: Panama

England finished atop Group L and will face DR Congo in the Round of 32 on Wednesday in Atlanta.

Croatia finished second and advances to face Portugal on Thursday in Toronto.

Ghana also moved on as one of the tournament’s best third-place teams and will face Colombia on Friday in Kansas City. Panama finished bottom of the group and was eliminated.