The 2026 World Cup final will take place on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, and it will be one of the most memorable of all time. Luis de la Fuente’s Spain, probably the best team of the tournament after beating France in the semifinal, will meet Argentina and Lionel Messi in what might become his last ever game at the World Cup. Spain have won the World Cup only once, lifting the trophy in 2010, and they will be appearing in just their second final on Sunday. Argentina, meanwhile, are three-time world champions, having triumphed in 1978 with Mario Kempes, 1986 under Diego Armando Maradona’s inspiration, and most recently in 2022. A victory on Sunday would see La Albiceleste become only the third nation in history to retain the World Cup, following Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962). Here’s what you need to know: 

How to watch Spain vs. Argentina

Date: Sunday, July 15 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
Location: MetLife Stadium — East Rutherford, N.J.
TV: FOX (Eng), Telemundo (Spa) | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
Odds: Spain +125; Draw +200; Argentina +254

The iconic photo

You’ve probably seen it by now, but back in 2007, then-Barcelona prodigy Lionel Messi posed for a photoshoot where he was bathing a little baby. The Argentina superstar will see that baby again. Five months old at the time, it was Spain’s rising superstar Lamine Yamal. On Sunday, nearly two decades later, they’ll face each other in the 2026 World Cup final at MetLife Stadium between Spain and Argentina. A game that will not only determine the new world champions but can potentially also decide who is going to be the 2026 Ballon d’Or winner between Messi and Yamal. But first, how did Messi and Yamal end up together in that photoshoot?

It all began in the fall of 2007, when Diario Sport, the Catalan newspaper, partnered with UNICEF, one of Barcelona’s longtime charitable partners, to produce a calendar for 2008, a format that was especially popular across Europe at the time. The idea was to shoot pictures of the first team with kids from the Barcelona area. To make it happen, UNICEF created a contest in the Rocafonda neighborhood in the Spanish city of Mataró, close to Barcelona, and the parents of Yamal participated and were selected to be part of it.

How Lionel Messi’s iconic photo with baby Lamine Yamal came to be as Argentina, Spain prep for World Cup final

Francesco Porzio

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“Back then, nobody could imagine that this baby would be who he is now and you could not have known that Messi would become who he became, either,” Joan Monfort, then a freelance photographer for the Associated Press, told The Athletic in a 2024 interview. 

“We are talking about 2007. Messi was only beginning at Barca then. Destiny plays an important role in these things. Messi is a pretty introverted guy, he’s shy. He was coming out of the locker room and suddenly he finds himself in another locker room with a plastic tub full of water and a baby in it. It was complicated. He didn’t even know how to hold him at first. At the start, there was not much interaction. It was difficult for all of them. But, bit by bit, it started to happen and in the end, it’s a pretty good photo.”

The picture became viral again in 2024 when the father of Yamal, Mounir Nasraoui, shared it again on his social media, telling the story and comparing his son with the Argentinian legend. Even UNICEF chimed in on social media on Thursday, posting the picture and saying, “Yes, those photos you’ve seen are real. More than 18 years ago, a baby named Lamine Yamal and his mom, Sheila, met Lionel Messi at a UNICEF fundraising photoshoot. Today, their achievements on the pitch inspire millions. Off the pitch, both Messi and Lamine Yamal use their voices.”

Trump to attend the final 

U.S. president Donald Trump is expected to present the World Cup trophy to the winners of the tournament but has not attended any of the 102 World Cup games so far, missing the United States matches as well. However, his increasingly close relationship with FIFA President Gianni Infantino has come under intense media scrutiny, particularly after FIFA lifted Folarin Balogun’s red card suspension ahead of the round of 16 clash against Belgium. A decision that, according to Trump himself, was made following his personal request. Mauricio Pochettino‘s side lost 4-1 against Belgium and were knocked out by the Red Devils. 

2026 World Cup final: U.S. President Donald Trump to attend; FIFA will present championship rings

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Francesco Porzio

Spain vs. Argentina predicted starting lineups

Spain: Unai Simon; Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsí, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Rodri, Fabián Ruiz, Álex Baena; Dani Olmo, Mikel Oyarzabal, Lamine Yamal.

Argentina: Emiliano Martínez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Facundo Medina; Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernández, Thiago Almada; Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez. 

Spain vs. Argentina pick, prediction

Spain have looked like the better and more complete team throughout the tournament, but Argentina’s recent performances have been nothing short of outstanding. The magic shows up again. Pick:  Argentina 2, Spain 1

Golazo 48 Nations: Follow the World Cup all summer long

Golazo 48 Nations is your all-access destination for the World Cup, with wall-to-wall coverage across the CBS Sports Golazo Network. From the first whistle to the final recap, the entire Golazo crew will guide fans through every moment of the tournament.

Each day begins with Morning Footy, setting the stage with the latest news, storylines, and previews ahead of kickoff. From there, Golazo Matchday and Golazo Matchnight deliver reaction and analysis as the action unfolds. Fans can also tune in for coverage of USMNT matches with the Call It What You Want team, as well as reaction to other marquee matchups.

The day wraps with Scoreline, a comprehensive nightly recap of every result, moment, and storyline from across the tournament. Altogether, the Golazo Network will deliver up to 12 hours of programming each matchday, available across the Golazo Network and its YouTube channel.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — J.T. Ginn took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and the Athletics routed the Washington Nationals 15-1 to end their 10-game losing streak Saturday night.

Jacob Wilson, Tyler Soderstrom and Carlos Cortes homered to help the A’s bounce back 24 hours after a 23-4 loss to Washington, their most lopsided defeat in more than 70 years.

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Ginn (8-6) allowed one hit in 6 1/3 scoreless innings. He struck out seven and walked three.

The 27-year-old right-hander retired 19 of the first 22 batters he faced and lost his bid for a no-hitter when Keibert Ruiz lined a clean single to center field with one out in the seventh.

After that, Ginn was pulled by manager Mark Kotsay and received a standing ovation.

Ruiz also singled in the ninth and scored on Jorbit Vivas‘ sacrifice fly. Vivas, an infielder, pitched for the Nationals for the second consecutive night. He worked the eighth inning and allowed one run, one hit, one walk and a hit batter.

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Wilson and Soderstrom each scored three times. They both homered off starter Zack Littell (7-7), who gave up eight runs, eight hits and four walks in six innings.

Wilson and Jeff McNeil each had three of the Athletics’ 13 hits.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Jaron Ennis could be involved in a blockbuster showdown following his sixth-round stoppage victory over Xander Zayas.

The 29-year-old dethroned his super-welterweight foe last month, becoming a two-division unified champion by claiming the WBO and WBA world titles.

As a result, Ennis could soon secure a three-belt unification match with either Sebastian Fundora or Josh Kelly, the respective WBC and IBF champions.

Fundora, however, is expected to defend his title against mandatory challenger Ermal Hadribeaj later this year, while Kelly must defeat Caoimhin Agyarko in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, next Saturday.

But while Ennis’ ultimate goal is to become the undisputed king at 154lbs, many would argue that his most lucrative opportunity could arrive against Vergil Ortiz Jr.

The pair were finalising a deal to collide earlier this year, only for Ortiz to become embroiled in a promotional dispute with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy.

On Friday, though, it was announced that all relevant parties have reached a settlement, allowing the 28-year-old to resume his promising career.

Taking to social media, De La Hoya echoed the encouraging news and called for a clash between Ennis and Ortiz to take place in 2026.

“I am extremely happy to announce that Golden Boy and Vergil Ortiz have patched things up. Let’s make the biggest fight happen: ‘Boots’ Ennis vs Vergil Ortiz this year.”

With Ortiz having not fought since his second-round finish over Erickson Lubin in November, many were expecting him to pursue a warm-up fight later this year.

According to promoter De La Hoya, though, it could be a case of jumping straight into the deep end with Ennis.

Pakenham trainer Charlotte Littlefield is choosing to bypass lucrative interstate opportunities with Concord Connie, instead setting her sights on a Group 1 win in Victoria.

The exciting mare, Concord Connie, has completed four weeks of preliminary work as she prepares for her comeback, with the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington during the Melbourne Cup Carnival serving as the ultimate goal.

This strategic decision means the mare will forgo a trip to Sydney for the $10 million Golden Eagle, a race that recently attained Group 1 status.

The rising four-year-old has competed in just four races to date, impressively winning her past three starts, with the last two of those victories coming at Flemington, the most recent on May 16.

Littlefield is planning a conservative starting point for Concord Connie, aiming to improve her handicap rating prior to the Spring Carnival.

“She’s probably just a touch ahead of schedule so we’ve probably got a bit of time to sit back and relax a little bit, just take her through gently and not rush her,” Littlefield remarked.

“She had four-and-a-half or five weeks out and she wasn’t a horse that loved being out in the paddock.

“She actually loves and thrives off the attention of being in the stable and human interaction.

“She’s a unique horse and we enjoy having her back in, that’s for sure.

“We’ll kick-off in a benchmark race first-up in mid to late September, possibly at Mornington as around that time there is very little benchmark racing in town, so hopefully she can kick-off in a winning way.

“We need to raise those points and providing she has come back well from there we will plot a path to something like the Empire Rose.

“She obviously goes well at Flemington.

“There is the lure of big prize money up in Sydney, but for me it’s more important to win a Group 1 at headquarters down here in Victoria and for the owners too.”

Littlefield is yet to achieve a Group 1 success, having had only four starters at the elite level.

She narrowly missed out in the 2025 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield when She’s Bulletproof finished second to Jimmysstar.

Those looking to wager on the spring racing action can find great value on Australian betting sites.

Tuchel can continue to rely on captain Kane – for now.

The Bayern Munich striker will be 36 when the next World Cup rolls around, but seems in no mood to hand up his England boots.

Kane – who scored six goals at this World Cup, but was an unused substitute against France – told the BBC: “One of the best England groups that I have ever been a part of.

“When you see the boys around the hotel, when you see us training on the pitch, when you see us in the changing room, it is a unique group. We had that bond and had so much belief in each other.”

On Tuchel, Kane added: “It is his first major tournament. I think he has learned a lot of the squad, the campaign, the travel and the games and what it takes – the pressure.”

One of England’s wounds that was deepened by the win over France was Tuchel’s decision not to send on Bukayo Saka against Argentina.

The Arsenal winger, an unused substitute in the semi-final, scored a hat-trick on Saturday against Les Bleus – then afterwards said he is fully fit, having endured some injury worries earlier in the North American campaign.

“Of course, I would love to have played more but it’s too late to talk about that,” Saka told BBC One. “I try to do my talking on the pitch and it’s done now, move on. I’m fit.”

On noise around the manager, he said: “I think that’s just part of the game… it’s how you react to it, how you use it as fuel and today we finished strong and that’s all we could really do and we did that.”

England’s twisting World Cup 2026 story has a bittersweet ending – with a thrilling victory in the game no-one wants to be a part of.

But how this campaign will ultimately be remembered might not be truly determined until after this team have produced their sequels.

The race for the golden boot at the World Cup is heading for a thrilling climax featuring some of the best players in the world.

The superstars have lived up their hype at this tournament, none more so than France’s Kylian Mbappe and Argentina hero Lionel Messi. Both have gone tit for tat since the very first outing, each storming past poor Miroslav Klose’s all-time goalscoring record to enter the semi-finals with eight goals apiece. Mbappe’s double in the so-called bronze final took him ahead of Messi, who will have the chance to answer as he faces Spain in the showpiece decider.

But in a twist an already enthralling race, team success may prove a detriment to Messi’s hopes. He is the only real contender for the accolade in the final and faces a tough challenge of breaching Spain’s rock-solid defence, which has only conceded once this tournament. If players are tied for goals, the number of assists will determine who ranks higher. If there is still a tie, it comes down to minutes played and the goals-per-minute ratio, which would favour Mbappe over Messi provided the Argentina captain plays the full final, if it got that far.

The talismanic pair are now the only players in the hunt – though England duo Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham both finish highly. Bellingham went ahead of Erling Haaland with his seventh goall as he finished off a 6-4 win against France to secure a third place finish.

World Cup 2026 Golden Boot standings

1. Kylian Mbappe (France), 10 goals, (4 assists) – 769 minutes played

2. Lionel Messi (Argentina), 8 goals (4 assists) – 712 minutes played

3. Jude Bellingham (England), 7 goals (1 assist) – 698 minutes played

4. Erling Haaland (Norway), 7 goals (0 assists) – 537 minutes played

5. Ousmane Dembele (France), 6 goals (2 assists) – 648 minutes played

6. Harry Kane (England), 6 goals (1 assist) – 732 minutes played

7. Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain), 5 goals (1 assist) – 599 minutes played

Latest World Cup Golden Boot odds

Check out the latest odds with betting sites for who will win the Golden Boot at the 2026 World Cup.

The first 48-team World Cup has provided a thrilling spectacle and a string of compelling storylines.

AFP Sport picks out some of the key talking points after more than five weeks of action in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

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Hotshots

The race for the Golden Boot caught fire early and has remained absorbing until the final weekend.

The names at the top of the charts are a who’s who of the world’s top marksmen — including Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane.

Mbappe, who scored twice in France‘s 6-4 defeat by England in Saturday’s third-place playoff, leads Messi by two goals with just Sunday’s final to come.

The Frenchman is also now the top goalscorer in World Cup history — with 22 to his name across three tournaments, one ahead of Messi.

Minnows sparkle

Debutants Cape Verde finished the group stage unbeaten and advanced from a section that included former champions Spain and Uruguay.

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“To be honest, it feels like I’m living in a fairytale,” said Deroy Duarte after his team set up a last-32 match against defending champions Argentina.

The African nation pushed Lionel Messi’s men to the brink, twice coming from behind, before a winner for Argentina in extra-time.

Caribbean island Curacao — the smallest country to compete at a World Cup by both population — also had their moment of glory, holding Ecuador to a goalless draw after an opening 7-1 hammering by Germany.

Argentina comebacks

Time and again Argentina have appeared vulnerable at the 2026 World Cup, but they have always found a way.

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The defending champions cruised through their group but were taken to extra-time by Cape Verde and recovered from 2-0 down late in the game against Egypt.

They needed extra-time again to beat Switzerland in the quarter-finals and were staring at defeat against England in the semi-finals before a late double.

Argentina have not played the silkiest football but their never-say-die attitude is their superpower.

Balogun row

The World Cup was remarkably free of off-field controversy until Folarin Balogun found himself at the centre of a political storm.

The US forward, who scored three goals, was sent off in his team’s last-32 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, ruling him out of the next game.

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But FIFA stepped in and suspended his ban, leading to widespread condemnation, especially when it emerged that US President Donald Trump had intervened.

The host nation were outclassed 4-1 by Belgium in the last 16, with Balogun making little impact.

Afterwards, the 25-year-old admitted the episode had put extra pressure on the team.

Haaland goes viral

Erling Haaland fired Norway to their best-ever World Cup finish — and also became a social media sensation with his quirky posts.

The towering Manchester City forward has gained 30 million Instagram followers since the start of the tournament to move to more than 71 million.

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Haaland, 25, whose team were beaten by England in the quarter-finals, now has far more Instagram followers than City’s official account.

One of his posts featured the “Viking row”, which will be one of the abiding images of the tournament. 

The ritual featured players leading Norway fans in a rhythmic row in a pretend Viking boat.

He also shared a picture of himself arriving back in Norway accompanied by a stuffed raccoon, explaining: “It followed me home.”

Falklands dispute

The build-up to the semi-final between Argentina and England was dominated by talk over the contested Falkland Islands, known in Spanish as the Malvinas.

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Argentina recovered from a goal down to win 2-1 and reach their third final in four World Cups.

After the final whistle the players held a banner that read: “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” (The Falklands are Argentine).

Britain called for FIFA to look into the incident and the governing body put out a statement saying it was “assessing the match reports”.

jw/gj

The final round of the 2026 Open Championship gets underway Sunday morning at Royal Birkdale in England. Here’s everything you need to know to watch the tournament on Sunday, including full Open Championship TV coverage, streaming details and complete Round 4 tee times.

How to watch Open on Sunday

The man to beat on Sunday at Royal Birkdale is American Ryder Cup member Sam Burns.

The five-time PGA Tour winner followed up a Friday 62 with a 65 on Saturday, moving him to 10 under for the tournament. That gives him a two-shot lead in this Open Championship with 18 holes standing between him and his first major championship title.

But while Burns has the clearest path to the Claret Jug, he’ll have plenty of tough competition in the final round. Four-time Tour winner Si Woo Kim and Ryan Fox, who shot 62 on Saturday, are tied for second at eight under.

Bryson DeChambeau shot a 69 following the controversial end to his second round, where he was hit with a two-shot penalty he vehemently disagreed with. He’ll start Sunday at six under, four shots off Burns’ lead.

Hometown hero Tommy Fleetwood (five under) and defending champion Scottie Scheffler (four under) are also still in the mix with one round to go.

You can watch the final round of the Open Championship on TV via NBC and USA, with USA opening the Sunday TV coverage at 4 a.m. ET, and NBC taking over the broadcast at 7 a.m. ET. Peacock will provide featured group coverage on Sunday, as well as a live simulcast of NBC’s Sunday TV coverage.

Below you will find everything you need to know to watch the final round of the 2026 Open Championship.

How to watch on TV Sunday

NBC and USA will share final-round TV coverage of the 2026 Open Championship on Sunday. USA’s telecast runs from 4-7 a.m. ET, followed by NBC’s broadcast from 7 a.m.-2 p.m. ET.

How to stream online Sunday

You can stream the final round of the 2026 Open Championship via Peacock, which will provide a simulcast of NBC’s coverage and featured group coverage. USA’s Sunday telecast can be streamed via Golf Channel Mobile.

Here’s the full Open Championship streaming schedule for Sunday:

Featured Groups: All day (Peacock)
Open Round 4 USA Coverage: 4-7 a.m. ET (Golf Channel Mobile)
Open Round 4 NBC Coverage: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. ET (Peacock)