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Argentina captain Lionel Messi, shown lifting the FIFA World Cup Trophy in Qatar in 2022, will pursue a second consecutive championship in Sunday’s final against Spain.Martin Meissner/The Associated Press
After more than 100 games and over a month of play, the World Cup is coming to its conclusion on Sunday. Global stars have emerged (hello, Norway’s Erling Haaland) and members of the old guard have bowed out (goodbye, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric).
Want to get caught up on all the action? Here’s what you need to know before the World Cup final kicks off.
When is the World Cup final? How can I watch it?
The World Cup final is on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. You can watch the game on television on TSN, or stream it on TSN.ca or the TSN+ app. It will also be streamed on the Crave app.
Select Cineplex movie theatre locations will show the game.
Who is performing in the halftime show?
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Canadian singer Justin Bieber is co-headlining the halftime show.Ashley Landis/The Associated Press
For the first time ever, the World Cup will have a halftime show. The performance is curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, and is headlined by Madonna, Shakira, Burna Boy, BTS, Justin Bieber and Gustavo Dudamel. Appearances from characters on Sesame Street and The Muppets will also be featured.
FIFA says the performance should last 11 minutes. The halftime break will likely be between 20 minutes to half an hour. A typical halftime break in soccer is 15 minutes.
Post Malone will perform in the tournament’s closing ceremony, which begins an hour and a half before kickoff, at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Who are the teams? How have they performed?
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Spain winger Lamine Yamal dribbles the ball during his team’s semi-final win over France.Lars Baron/Getty Images
The World Cup final combatants are the top two teams in the world, per FIFA’s official pre-tournament ranking: No. 1-ranked Argentina and No. 2-ranked Spain. Both teams are undefeated entering the final.
Lionel Messi’s Argentina is the defending champion, having beaten France in penalty kicks in the 2022 World Cup final. The team dominated the group stage, only conceding one goal to Jordan in a 3-1 victory.
But the knockout round has been another story. The Argentines went to extra time with 67th-ranked Cape Verde and 19th-ranked Switzerland, and made comebacks from 2-0 and 1-0 deficits against Egypt and England, respectively. Late goals have keyed the team’s success: Argentina scored in the 85th minute and in stoppage time to stun England.
And while Spain has yet to lose, it had a rocky start with a 0-0 draw with the massive underdogs Cape Verde.
But since that draw, Spain has scored 13 goals and only conceded once. The Spanish dominated France in the semi-finals, stifling the powerful French offence in a 2-0 victory.
Who are the players to watch?
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Spain forward Mikel Oyarzabal scores from the penalty spot in the semi-final against France.FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images
One of the greatest soccer players ever, Lionel Messi, will headline this World Cup final. The 39-year-old has been Argentina’s standout scorer, netting eight goals along with four assists in seven games. Messi will hope to lift his second straight World Cup trophy and help Argentina become just the third nation to win back-to-back tournaments.
Lautaro Martínez has been another difference maker for Argentina in the knockout stages. Martínez scored the go-ahead goal against England to send his country to the final, and solidified victory against Switzerland with a goal in added time. He, Messi and Enzo Fernández will be key players for Spain to silence.
On the Spanish side, Mikel Oyarzabal has been the standout, netting five goals and assisting once in the World Cup thus far. Between the World Cup qualifiers and this tournament, he’s scored 11 goals and assisted four in 13 games.
Winger Lamine Yamal has had a quiet tournament, but make no mistake: The youngster can break open any game. He was the runner-up for the 2025 Ballon d’Or – awarded to the best player in the world for the previous season – at 18. And he was a key player in Spain’s UEFA European Championship win in 2024, scoring a goal against France to help propel his team to the final.
Who’s the Golden Boot leader of the tournament?
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Lionel Messi tops the tournament scoring leaderboard heading into the last weekend of play.PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images
The Golden Boot award is given to the World Cup’s top goal scorer. If multiple players are tied in goals, the one with more assists prevails.
With two assists in the semi-finals, Messi is in the driver’s seat, having scored eight goals with four assists. He’s increased his career total to 21 goals, the World Cup record, across the six tournaments he’s participated in. Germany’s Miroslav Klose previously held the record with 16 goals over four tournaments.
Players eliminated in the semis can still pursue the Golden Boot by racking up goals and assists in Saturday’s third-place match. This keeps France’s Kylian Mbappé (eight goals, three assists) and England’s Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham (six goals, one assist apiece) in the running for the award.
Both Mbappé and Kane won the Golden Boot in previous editions of the tournament, in 2022 and 2018, respectively.
What has been the biggest controversy of the tournament?
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U.S. striker Folarin Balogun, right, received a red card for this foul on Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemović in the round of 32.Jeff Chiu/The Associated Press
The biggest controversy of the World Cup thus far involved United States striker Folarin Balogun.
Balogun collected a red card in the U.S.’s round of 32 game against Bosnia-Herzegovina, which meant he would miss the remainder of that match and be suspended for the round of 16.
Red cards are shown for serious offences that include tackles with an intent to injure, unsportsmanlike conduct such as racial slurs or handballs purposely committed to deny a goal. Balogun was ejected for stepping awkwardly on the right ankle of Bosnian centre back Tarik Muharemović.
U.S. President Donald Trump intervened on behalf of the American forward, calling FIFA president Gianni Infantino after the game and asking FIFA to review the red card. FIFA announced on July 5 that the suspension had been lifted for the round of 16 match, taking place the following day against Belgium.
FIFA said its decision relied on Article 27 of disciplinary committee rules. Article 27 allows FIFA to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure, and subjects the player to a sanctioned probationary period.
The Belgian soccer federation challenged FIFA’s ruling not to enforce a ban on Balogun. FIFA dismissed the legal challenge less than eight hours before kickoff. Belgium ended up winning 4-1, eliminating the U.S. from the tournament.
Balogun‘s red card overturn set a precedent for the remainder of the World Cup that any decision made on the field can be appealed. The French Football Federation asked FIFA to review Michael Olise’s yellow card collected in the round of 16, and two English politicians called for review on English defender Jarell Quansah’s red card in the round of 16. Both requests came to no avail.
Which country has won the most World Cups?
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Brazil’s Ronaldo celebrates his second goal against Germany in the 2002 World Cup final.JIM BOURG
The team that has lifted the most World Cup trophies is Brazil, with five titles to its name. The last win was in 2002, with a 2-0 victory over Germany. Norway eliminated Brazil in the round of 16 this tournament.
Of the teams left in the World Cup, Argentina is a three-time champion, with its most recent win occurring in 2022. Spain has won once, in 2010.
When and where is the next World Cup?
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino is shown with the World Cup trophy.Henry Romero/Reuters
If you thought a tournament spread across three countries was large, the 2030 World Cup will be spread across three continents and six countries.
The tournament will take place in June and July, 2030, and will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco. In honour of the tournament’s 100-year anniversary, one game will be played in Uruguay – the nation that hosted and won the first World Cup – along with one game in Argentina and one game in Paraguay.
Infantino said FIFA will discuss expanding the field to 64 teams after the conclusion of the 2026 tournament. This World Cup saw the field increase to 48 teams from 32.
With reports from Reuters
