• World Cup final:Spain will clash against defending champion Argentina at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the final clash following an epic World Cup that brought us more than a month of soccer action across North America
• Superstars on the pitch: Spain’s teenager wonderkid Lamine Yamal will meet Lionel Messi on the field for the very first time in a World Cup
• Trump in attendance:The American president, and a host of other world leaders, will be at today’s final. It’s anticipated that Trump will help handoff the trophy to the eventual winner
• A halftime show:Today’s final will feature the World Cup’s first-ever halftime show. The international spectacle will be headlined by Madonna, Shakira, Justin Bieber and BTS
Sigue toda nuestra cobertura en español aquí con CNNE.
7 Posts
Argentina’s Giovani Lo Celso holds a banner after the semifinal win against England.
In the midst of that party atmosphere following Argentina’s semifinal win, you might have missed the moment players unfurled a rudimentary banner on what appeared to be a white bed sheet with the words: “LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS” or “The Malvinas (The Falklands) are Argentine.”
CNN Sports witnessed the banner being held by Argentina midfielder Giovani Lo Celso and center-back Lisandro Martínez, before it was scrunched up and then laid back out on the pitch temporarily. It’s unclear where the banner came from, but pictures show that it was in the stands with fans at the end of the game
The banner’s text is a clear political message in reference to the British-ruled Falklands Islands, which have a long been a sore point between the United Kingdom and Argentina. The diplomatic tensions stretch back to the 1700s and 1800s but came to a head in 1982 when the nations went to war over the South Atlantic islands, 300 miles east of the tip of South America
The 74-day war was sparked when the then-military government in Argentina landed an invading force on the islands and ended with a British victory that followed hundreds of casualties on both sides. Residents overwhelmingly voted to remain British in a 2013 referendum, but it remains an issue of contention in Argentina. In 2024, Argentina President Javier Milei said that he has a “clear roadmap so that the Malvinas return to Argentine hands.”
All this served as an undercurrent for the semifinal. However, FIFA might still get involved
Section 3.1.24 of FIFA’s Stadium Code of Conduct for this World Cup prohibits banners “of a political, offensive and/or discriminatory nature” and Law 4 of the Laws of the Game also bans political messaging
UK Business Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC that the banner was “entirely inappropriate” and that he expects “FIFA to do its investigation thoroughly.”
So while it remains to be seen what punishment could be handed out to the players or anyone else on the Argentina squad, there is precedent
FIFA banned South Korea’s Park Jong-woo for two international matches for unfurling a banner in Korean that read “Dokdo is our territory” after its victory over Japan in the 2012 Olympic bronze medal match, in regard to the dispute over the islands
European soccer governing body UEFA also banned Spain’s Rodri and Álvaro Morata for one match for saying “Gibraltar is Spanish” at the team’s Euro 2024 celebrations
Spanish players celebrate after their semifinal win against France.
Everything in the July 14 semifinal looked familiar as a Spain fan: dominant possession, strong defense and very little to genuinely worry about. This was alarming for the first few matches of the World Cup – particularly the opener against Cape Verde – but then the team steadily marched onward, either openly or deceptively dominating opponents – with a bit of luck on its side at times – on its way to the semifinals
The storyline sounded oddly familiar, almost like a rip-off of something I’d heard before, then it hit me: This was Spain at the 2010 World Cup
Let me bring you up to speed. La Rojaentered the 2010 World Cup as one of the favorites, having won the 2008 European Championships and impressing the world with its style of play, particularly with its out-of-this-world midfield – much like Spain in 2026
The Iberians slipped up big time in their first match of the tournament, being shocked by Switzerland 1-0, bringing back ghosts of tournament failures past for Spanish fans. The manager came out and tried to calm everyone down, saying, “It wasn’t our day … the World Cup hasn’t ended” – much like Spain in 2026
Cooler heads prevailed and the team began a run of winning matches, mostly by one goal, on its way to the semifinals against a European giant – much like Spain in 2026
In the semifinal against a traditional boogeyman that La Roja had recently turned the tables on, Germany in this case, Spain won much of the possession and controlled the match for the most part, but the Germans had chances that threatened the Spanish goal but ultimately didn’t break through. I don’t need to repeat what happened in the end
The parallels of this team’s performances with those of the national heroes of 2010 are uncanny, except there’s just a tad more to them
Read more about the similarities between this year’s Spain team and their 2010 championship squad
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has raised the possibility that 64 teams could play in the next World Cup.
When it was announced that this year would be the largest World Cup in history, fought between a record 48 teams, there was a bit of pushback initially
The World Cup should be selective, some argued. The overall quality of the games will be negatively impacted, others said
And while both of those statements were true to some extent, the 48-team competition has won a lot of people over
So, it’s perhaps only natural that FIFA President Gianni Infantino would consider adding even more nations to the mix
The next World Cup in 2030 is to be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco. However, the first three matches will be played in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay to mark 100 years since the first edition of the tournament was played in Uruguay
CONMEBOL, the governing body for South American soccer, has already proposed a 2030 World Cup consisting of 64 teams to properly celebrate the centenary
And while many will see the benefits of such an expansion, both financially and in terms of legacy, there will be others who are less excited
The tournament is already taking much longer because of the 104-game schedule. Players who reach the latter stages have little time off before their domestic club seasons get back underway as it stands
Read more about the proposed World Cup expansion here
Confused by the offside rule in soccer? CNN explains how it works and why it exists:
France’s Kylian Mbappé celebrates his 10th goal of this tournament. It also put him atop the World Cup’s all-time scoring list (22 goals).
A quick reminder of where we stand with the Golden Boot, the award given to the tournament’s top scorer
This year has witnessed one of the most exciting races in history, with a host of superstars scoring freely. But, perhaps unsurprisingly, two of the biggest names soared above the rest
As it stands, France’s Kylian Mbappé is out in front with 10 goals, with Messi just behind with eight. It means the Argentine will need to score at least twice in today’s final to stand any chance of securing what would be his first World Cup Golden Boot trophy
The two goals would mean Messi draws level with Mbappé on both goals and assists. That would require the Inter Miami man either scoring another goal or dishing out an assist to take the crown
If both stars remain level on goals and assists, then the player who played fewer minutes across the tournament would win the award – likely Mbappé
But let’s be honest, it’s not anywhere near as important as the World Cup trophy itself
Argentina’s Lionel Messi, left, and Spain’s Lamine Yamal
I’m not sure I could think of two teams more different to play a World Cup final. We are in for an utter treat
Spain is the master of possession. It does the pretty things well – keeping the ball with confidence and crafting some beautiful passages of play that rip teams apart
Meanwhile, Argentina is a snarling team full of passion-merchants. They almost prioritize aggression over their obvious ability, doing the ugly stuff better than anyone else, flying into late challenges and trying to intimidate the opposition
So far, both styles have worked, and they’re now set to clash in what will be the most predictable World Cup final of all time because there is no question about how both teams will play
But what makes predicting a winner difficult is that both teams have experience lifting big trophies
Spain is the reigning European champion, and Argentina has won three major international trophies in a row – including, obviously, the last World Cup – with many of the same players in the current side. Both have had time to gel as a squad, and both have managers who know how to get over the line
And while Argentina’s star man Messi is often the difference for his team, Spain boasts Lamine Yamal who many consider to be the heir to the Argentine’s throne
It’s just a final that’s so perfectly balanced that even I (a heartbroken England fan) can’t help getting excited for
A member of the grounds staff paints pitch lines inside MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
Hello and welcome to CNN Sports’ live coverage of the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina!
Today is an incredibly important day for tens of millions of people around the world (including myself) and one that billions around the world will be watching. The World Cup is a unique cultural event that brings together the entire planet in celebration of its greatest game – soccer, football, fútbol, the Beautiful Game, whatever you call it – and, if you win the trophy itself, it means more than anything to many
Let me use myself as a microcosm of how much this is true
On Sunday, July 11, 2010, I (a madrileño) watched the World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands on a makeshift screen set up outside of an Irish pub in central London with some friends from Salamanca (a city in western Spain) and several hundred others
We stood the entire time, lamenting the awful refereeing, ruing missed chances, feeling our hearts drop from miraculous saves and then, finally, screaming at the magical goal in extra-time from Andrés Iniesta, which gave us our first star (Note: Teams that win the World Cup earn the right to have a star on their jerseys above the national crest)
My friends Rúben, Chuchi, Julia and I were crying at the final whistle and hugging each other for what seemed like hours
We stayed out all night celebrating in the streets with tens of thousands of other Spaniards with calimochobefore we may or may not have started chanting “yo soy español, español, español!” over and over while swimming in the fountains of Trafalgar Square at about 6 a.m. local time the next day (roughly eight hours after the game)
Needless to say, I did not make work the next day and, thankfully, my English boss at the time (hello, Chris!) completely understood as he would have done the same
On the other side, I am sure that countless Netherlands supporters were inconsolable and it took them a long, long time to get over that (thankfully, I didn’t know any Dutch people then!)
All this to say that today is going to be the peak of human emotion. You will see players lay it all on the line for a chance at that golden trophy and the title of world champion. You will see fans crying from the highest elation and the deepest sadness. You will see heroes and villains, genius and controversy, and hopefully the best that this game has to offer
Enjoy
