World Cup 2026
— tournament recap
The 2026 FIFA World Cup ran from 11 June to 19 July 2026 across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Spain won it, beating Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the final at MetLife Stadium. This page is now an archive: the result, the format and dates, and where to read about crypto football betting today. It lists no tournament offers, because they have all ended.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup was the 23rd edition and the first co-hosted by three nations: the United States, Canada and Mexico. It was also the first World Cup with 48 teams, up from 32 in Qatar 2022. The group stage had 12 groups of 4; the top 2 from each group and the 8 best third-placed teams went through to a new 32-team knockout round.
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The final: Spain 1-0 Argentina (aet)
Spain won the 2026 World Cup on Sunday 19 July 2026, beating defending champions Argentina 1-0 after extra time at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Substitute Ferran Torres scored the only goal in the 106th minute. It was Spain’s second World Cup title and its first since 2010.
Sources (as of 22 Oct 2026): Wikipedia: 2026 FIFA World Cup final and the Associated Press match report of 19 July 2026.
What happened to this page’s odds and offers
During the tournament this page carried a sportsbook table, World Cup welcome offers and outright winner prices. All of them were time-limited, and we have removed them rather than leave expired offers and old prices looking current. We do not reprint the old outright prices here. For how outright prices and margins work in general, read our World Cup 2026 odds explained guide, which is a pre-tournament article.
Awards and records from the 2026 tournament
| Award or record | 2026 World Cup |
|---|---|
| Golden Boot (top scorer) | Kylian Mbappé (France), 10 goals: his second in a row, and he became the all-time leading World Cup scorer |
| Golden Ball (best player) | Rodri (Spain, captain) |
| Golden Glove (best goalkeeper) | Unai Simón (Spain) |
| Young Player Award | Pau Cubarsí (Spain) |
| Goals per match | 2.96, the highest average since 1970 |
| Attendance | Nearly 7 million, a World Cup record (previous record: 1994) |
| Semi-finalists | Argentina, Spain, France and England, the first time the world ranking’s top four all reached the last four |
| Debutants | Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan |
Source: Wikipedia: 2026 FIFA World Cup, as of 2 November 2026.
Spain conceded only one goal in the whole tournament, the first World Cup winner to do so. The title also made Spain the first country to hold the men’s and women’s World Cups at the same time. For bettors, the useful lesson from 2026 is the format rather than any single result. The 48-team draw added a Round of 32, so outright markets had to price an extra knockout game for every contender, and the third-placed qualifiers made group-stage permutations harder to model than in a 32-team tournament.
Tournament format & key dates
The 48-team format added a round to the knockout stage, so the finalists played up to eight matches:
- Group stage — 12 groups of 4 teams, from 11 June. The top 2 in each group and the 8 best third-placed teams advanced, so 32 teams reached the knockout stage, up from 16 at previous World Cups.
- Round of 32 — new for 2026, played 28 June to 3 July.
- Round of 16 — 4 to 7 July.
- Quarter-finals — 9 to 11 July.
- Semi-finals — 14 and 15 July.
- Third-place play-off — 18 July.
- Final — 19 July 2026, MetLife Stadium, New Jersey: Spain 1-0 Argentina after extra time.
Crypto football betting after the World Cup
Club football runs all year, and our sportsbook pages are kept current outside tournament windows. Before you sign up anywhere, check three things on the book’s site: whether its terms accept players from your country, what identity checks it asks for before a withdrawal, and the wagering terms on any offer. If a sportsbook’s terms exclude your country, do not use a VPN to get round it; that breaches the terms and can cost you your balance.
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Related sports betting guides
Pre-tournament odds analysis (archived): World Cup 2026 Odds Explained — From Group Stage to Final
Football year-round: Best Crypto Sportsbooks for Football Betting 2026
All sportsbook rankings: Best Crypto Sportsbooks 2026
General sports betting guide: Best crypto sportsbooks