Spain are already in the World Cup 2026 final on 19 July at MetLife Stadium. Here is the date, the kickoff time in Portugal, where to watch and who they might face.

By Vasco Almada

Image: Bryan Berlin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Our running World Cup 2026 tracker: results from every round, the updated knockout bracket and the day's big stories, updated through the 19 July final.

This is our running World Cup 2026 tracker, updated after every round through the final on 19 July at MetLife Stadium. Instead of hunting for the day's article, you'll find the results that matter, the stories shaping the tournament and the road to the final here — with the official schedule and results always available on FIFA's site. For the first time there is a round of 32 before the round of 16: the top two in each group advance along with the eight…

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Spain beat France 2-0 in the first World Cup 2026 semifinal. Oyarzabal scored from the spot and Porro added a second. La Roja now await England or Argentina.

Spain are in the World Cup 2026 final. In the first semifinal, played on Tuesday, La Roja beat France 2-0 and are now one game away from lifting the trophy for a second time. The first goal came from the penalty spot. Digne brought down Lamine Yamal inside the box and the referee pointed straight to the spot. Mikel Oyarzabal stepped up and made no mistake, sending the ball well beyond Maignan's reach. Then, on 58 minutes, Pedro Porro played a quick…

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The World Cup 2026 semi-finals are on Tuesday and Wednesday, both at 8pm Lisbon time. France-Spain and England-Argentina air free-to-air on RTP, SIC and TVI, and on Sport TV.

Only the best are left. After a knockout stage full of shocks, World Cup 2026 hands us four giants in the semi-finals — and both games land on back-to-back nights, at the same time, easy to catch in Portugal. Here is the quick guide to where and when. Both kick off at 8pm Lisbon time. France take on Spain on Tuesday, July 14, at AT&T Stadium in Dallas; England face Argentina on Wednesday, July 15, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. It is the…

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France, Argentina, Spain and England — the world's No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 — are all in the World Cup 2026 semi-finals. It has never happened before.

The World Cup 2026 semi-finals come with a footnote that has never appeared before: the four teams left standing are, exactly, the top four in the FIFA ranking. France first, Argentina second, Spain third, England fourth. For the first time since the ranking existed, the tournament has sifted its field right down to the theoretical elite of world football. There is usually a gatecrasher by this stage — a side outside the top 10 that muscles in among the…

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Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé meet on Tuesday in the World Cup 2026 semi-finals. The Spanish prodigy has never lost a knockout game against the Frenchman: 5-0.

For almost twenty years, football organised itself around one question: Ronaldo or Messi? That era is winding down — and on Tuesday in Dallas, something like a succession gets played out. Lamine Yamal against Kylian Mbappé, Spain against France, a World Cup semi-final as the opening night of the rivalry likely to define the next decade. The symbolism is hard to miss. Cristiano Ronaldo, at 41, said goodbye to World Cups in the round of 16 — against Spain,…

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The USA-Belgium round-of-16 tie became the most-watched soccer telecast in American TV history: 46 million across Fox and Telemundo, close to NFL numbers.

Football has never stopped American television quite like this. The USA-Belgium round-of-16 tie at the 2026 World Cup — the 4-1 defeat that knocked out the co-hosts — has become the most-watched soccer telecast in US television history, according to final Nielsen figures: an average of 33.1 million viewers on Fox, plus 12.9 million on Telemundo, for a combined 46 million. That for one night, football played in the giants' league. The number sits within…

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England vs Argentina kicks off July 15 at 8pm Lisbon time (3pm in Atlanta). It's the first ever World Cup semi-final between the two — with the July 19 final at stake.

The bracket has closed with a blockbuster: England vs Argentina, Wednesday, in Atlanta. Nine decades of shared history — and, remarkably, the two have never met in a World Cup semi-final. There's a first time for everything, and this one is worth a place in the July 19 final at New York/New Jersey. The match is on Wednesday, July 15, at 8pm Lisbon time (3pm local) at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The official match page is on FIFA's site.

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Breel Embolo was sent off in the World Cup 2026 quarter-final under the mistaken identity protocol. Here is what the IFAB rule says and why it is a first.

The short answer: Embolo was sent off because the yellow card for the incident had been shown to the wrong player. On 72 minutes of the Argentina vs Switzerland quarter-final in Kansas City, Leandro Paredes was booked for an alleged foul on Breel Embolo. The VAR called the referee over, the replays showed the Swiss forward falling before any contact was made — and the decision flipped: Paredes's yellow was rescinded and Embolo was booked for simulation…

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Conor McGregor hurt his knee 69 seconds into his UFC 329 fight with Max Holloway, ending his first bout in five years in immediate defeat.

Sixty-nine seconds. That is how long Conor McGregor's return to the octagon lasted, five years after his last fight — and it ended in the worst way possible: with the Irishman limping and Max Holloway declared the winner at UFC 329 in Las Vegas. McGregor, 37, walked in like it was the old days — a mohawk to match his UFC debut, a sprint across the canvas and a flying kick straight off the bell. That is where it all came apart: on landing, his right knee…

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Argentina vs Switzerland finished 3-1 after extra time in the World Cup 2026 quarter-final, with Embolo sent off for simulation by Portuguese referee João Pinheiro.

The semi-final bracket closed in the small hours in Kansas City, and it closed with a proper dose of drama: Argentina beat Switzerland 3-1 after extra time to set up a date with England. Along the way there was a red card for diving, half an hour of heroic Swiss resistance — and a Portuguese referee at the centre of everything. It started to script: Mac Allister put Argentina ahead on 10 minutes from a Messi assist, and for an hour the champions…

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England vs Norway finished 2-1 after extra time in the World Cup 2026 quarter-final: a Jude Bellingham brace in Miami. Haaland exits; England await Argentina-Switzerland.

When England needed someone to settle it, they turned to the usual suspect. Jude Bellingham scored both goals in a 2-1 win over Norway in Miami, a slog that needed extra time, and carried England into the World Cup 2026 semi-finals. One scare at a time. Norway went ahead on 36 minutes through Andreas Schjelderup, drafted into the starting XI, whose shot from a tight angle clipped the post on its way in. The reply came on the stroke of half-time: Anthony…

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France vs Spain kicks off July 14 at 8pm Lisbon time in Dallas. The Euro 2024 rematch decides who reaches the World Cup 2026 final.

The first heavyweight semi-final is set: France vs Spain, Tuesday, in Dallas. Two years after Spain ended French hopes in the Euro 2024 semis, the rematch arrives on an even bigger stage — with a place in the July 19 final at New York/New Jersey on the line. The match is on Tuesday, July 14, at 8pm Lisbon time (2pm local) at Dallas Stadium in Texas. The official match page is on the FIFA website.

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Jayden Adams, South Africa and Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder, has died at 25, weeks after playing at the 2026 World Cup. No cause of death was given; police opened an inquest.

Jayden Adams, the 25-year-old South Africa international midfielder, died on Saturday, just weeks after playing for Bafana Bafana at the 2026 World Cup. The news landed in the middle of the quarter-final weekend and turned a day of football into a day of mourning across the African game. Very little so far. No cause of death has been announced, and South African media report that police have opened an inquest. Mamelodi Sundowns, his club, confirmed his…

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Thibaut Courtois left Spain-Belgium in tears with a muscle injury after 21 straight completed World Cup matches. At 34, it may have been his World Cup farewell.

Some defeats hurt beyond the scoreline. Belgium went out of the World Cup 2026 quarter-finals to Spain, but the image of the night in Inglewood wasn't a goal — it was Thibaut Courtois leaving the pitch in tears with a muscle injury to his left leg, midway through a game Spain would go on to win 2-1. Because the numbers are unforgiving. Courtois is 34 and had completed 21 consecutive World Cup matches — he had never been substituted at a World Cup until…

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