FIFA World Cup 2026: Final and third-place results confirmed as Spain win and England record best finish since 1966
By Ben Southby
Updated 20/07/2026 at 12:16 GMT+1
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The 2026 FIFA World Cup saw 48 teams whittled down to one, with Spain standing tall after a tense final against Argentina, while France and England contested a classic fixture for third place - with The Three Lions winning a 10-goal thriller.
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What a tournament it has been.
Co-hosts USA, Canada and Mexico all made it through the group stage before being beaten in the last 16.
Germany were the big shock at the last 32 stage, suffering a stunning defeat to Paraguay. That old saying about Germany and penalty shoot-outs no longer seems so pertinent.
After scraping past Japan with a 2-1 win, Carlo Ancelotti's Brazil were beaten 2-1 by Norway in the biggest surprise of the last 16.
France looked like the team to beat. After knockout wins over Sweden and Paraguay, Les Bleus advanced to the semi-finals with a 2-0 victory over Morocco in Boston, to set up a meeting with Spain, who claimed a hard-fought 2-1 win over Belgium in Los Angeles.
It was the reigning European champions who came out on top, winning 2-0 to reach the final for the first time since 2010, in the process ending France's dreams of a third successive appearance in the showpiece match.
As for England, they had to come through some tough encounters to keep their hopes alive.
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Thomas Tuchel's side had to rely on Harry Kane's second-half brace to narrowly beat DR Congo in the last 32, before they set up a quarter-final against Norway in Miami with a thrilling 3-2 win over Mexico at the Azteca.
They then booked their place in the semi-finals thanks to Jude Bellingham, who inspired a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Norway. But that's where the journey ended for the Three Lions, who saw their hopes of reaching the final for the first time since 1966 crushed by two late Argentina goals.
The reigning champions edged a 3-2 thriller after extra time against Cabo Verde before surviving another huge scare against Egypt in the last 16. Trailing 2-0 with just 11 minutes of normal time remaining, Argentina pulled off one of the great World Cup comebacks to claim another 3-2 win.
They were then taken to extra time by Switzerland in the quarters, but Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez found the net to put the result beyond doubt.
Argentina showed their battling qualities once more in the semis to come from 1-0 down against England with six minutes of normal time remaining to find two goals and set up a final against Spain.
England and France contested a 10-goal thriller, with The Three Lions coming out on top to record their best finish at a World Cup since 1966.
The final between Argentina and Spain finished 0-0 in normal time, but Ferran Torres scored the winner in extra time to secure Spain's second World Cup triumph.
Final
- Sunday, July 19 - Spain 1-0 Argentina AET (New Jersey)
Third-place fixture
- Saturday, July 18 - France 4-6 England (Miami)
Semi-final fixtures and results
- Tuesday, July 14 - France 0-2 Spain (Dallas Stadium)
- Wednesday, July 15 - England 1-2 Argentina (Atlanta Stadium)
Quarter-final fixtures and results
- Thursday, July 9 - France 2-0 Morocco (Foxborough)
- Friday, July 10 - Spain 2-1 Belgium (Los Angeles)
- Saturday, July 11 - Norway 1-2 England AET (Miami)
- Sunday, July 12 - Argentina 3-1 Switzerland AET (Kansas City)
Round of 16 fixtures and results
- Saturday, July 4 - Canada 0-3 Morocco (Houston)
- Saturday, July 4 - Paraguay 0-1 France (Philadelphia)
- Sunday, July 5 - Brazil 1-2 Norway (New Jersey)
- Monday, July 6 - Mexico 2-3 England (Mexico City)
- Monday, July 6 - Portugal 0-1 Spain (Arlington)
- Tuesday, July 7 - USA 1-4 Belgium (Seattle)
- Tuesday, July 7 - Argentina v Egypt (Atlanta)
- Tuesday, July 7 - Switzerland v Colombia (Vancouver)
Round of 32 fixtures and results
- Sunday, June 28 - South Africa 0-1 Canada (Los Angeles)
- Monday, June 29 - Brazil 2-1 Japan (Houston)
- Monday, June 29 - Germany 1-1 (3-4 pens) Paraguay (Boston)
- Tuesday, June 30 - Netherlands 1-1 (2-3 pens) Morocco (Monterrey)
- Tuesday, June 30 - Cote d'Ivoire 1-2 Norway (Dallas)
- Tuesday, June 30 - France 3-0 Sweden (New York/New Jersey)
- Wednesday, July 1 - Mexico 2-0 Ecuador (Mexico City)
- Wednesday, July 1 - England 2-1 DR Congo (Atlanta)
- Wednesday, July 1 - Belgium 3-2 Senegal AET (Seattle)
- Thursday, July 2 - USA 2-0 Bosnia & Herzegovina (San Francisco)
- Thursday, July 2 - Spain 3-0 Austria (Los Angeles)
- Friday, July 3 - Portugal 2-1 Croatia (Toronto)
- Friday, July 3 - Switzerland 2-0 Algeria (Vancouver)
- Friday, July 3 - Australia 1-1 (2-4 pens) Egypt (Dallas)
- Friday, July 3 - Argentina 3-2 Cabo Verde AET (Miami)
- Saturday, July 4 - Colombia 1-0 Ghana (Kansas City)
Group A
Mexico were through as the first team to qualify for the knockout stages - and as group winners - after beating South Africa and Korea Republic. They made it a perfect record by dumping out Czechia.
South Africa qualified for the knockout phase for the first time ever by beating Korea in their third game, putting the Asian side into third place.
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Group B
Switzerland defeated Canada 2-1 in Vancouver to secure top spot with the co-hosts qualifying from second place. They will face South Africa in the last 32.
Bosnia & Herzegovina beat Qatar 3-1 to finish third on four points, and will face USA in the last 32.
Group C
Scotland finished in third place, having had their hopes hanging in the balance as they waited to see if at least four other third-placed sides would end the group stage with a poorer record. That hope was extinguished on Saturday night.
Brazil beat them 3-0 on the third matchday to secure top spot, while Morocco beat already-eliminated Haiti 4-2 to finish second on goal difference.
Group D
With the USA already through as group winners, and Turkiye eliminated, the only jeopardy on the final matchday concerned Paraguay and Australia, who faced off in the decider.
They played out a goalless draw, which secured a second-placed finish for the Socceroos on goal difference. Paraguay progressed as a third-placed finisher.
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Group E
Germany topped the group, while Cote d'Ivoire secured second spot, while Ecuador are through after a dramatic 2-1 win over Julian Nagelsmann's side in the final round of fixtures.
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Group F
Tunisia finished pointless and crashed out early. They were beaten by Netherlands in the group finale as the Dutch clinched top spot with a return of seven points.
They were joined by Japan, who drew with Sweden in a crunch clash - but it was enough to put the Scandinavian side through, too, as their four-point finish sees them as one of the best third-placed teams.
Group G
Belgium went from third to first on the final matchday, winning 5-1 against bottom-placed New Zealand.
Iran and Egypt played out a dramatic 1-1 draw, with the former agonisingly denied a late winner by a tight offside call via VAR, meaning Mo Salah and and his team-mates go through in second place.
Group H
Spain topped the group with seven points after beating Uruguay on the final matchday, as Marcelo Bielsa's men crashed out with a mere two points.
Cabo Verde are the beneficiaries, as their dream debut on the world's biggest stage continued with a third draw, against Saudi Arabia, taking them through.
Group I
France and Norway qualified before they met in their final group game. An Ousmane Dembele hat-trick lifted Les Bleus to a 4-1 win for a perfect record in the pool.
Senegal and Iraq lost their first two matches, and it was the former who sneaked through to the knockout stages thanks to a 5-0 win.
Group J
Lionel Messi's magic helped Argentina seal top spot with maximum points, while Austria joined them following a thrilling draw against Algeria.
However, Algeria also confirmed their passage to the last 32 as one of the best third-placed sides. Jordan went out early.
Group K
Colombia qualified in first place after drawing against Portugal, who also go through in second spot.
DR Congo set up a round-of-32 clash with England thanks to a final-day comeback win over Uzbekistan, who were already out.
Group L
England may have wasted the chance to book themselves a spot in the last 32 when they drew with Ghana, but both sides made it through with a game to spare thanks to other results.
The Three Lions then sealed top spot with a win over Panama. Ghana dropped to third after losing to Croatia in their group finale.
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