Spain are the 2026 World Cup champions. Substitute Ferran Torres struck in the 106th minute at MetLife Stadium to beat holders Argentina 1–0 after extra time, the first final to sit goalless through 90 minutes since 1994. England claimed third with a wild 6–4 win over France, and Kylian Mbappé’s 10 goals took the Golden Boot along with the all-time World Cup scoring record. This page, which tracked the winner market through the tournament, now stands as the record of how it all finished.
How the 2026 World Cup finished
| Place | Nation | How it ended |
|---|---|---|
| Champions | Spain | Beat Argentina 1–0 after extra time in the final (Ferran Torres 106′) |
| Runners-up | Argentina | Beat England 2–1 in the semi-final; lost the final in extra time |
| Third | England | Beat France 6–4 in the third-place game |
| Fourth | France | Lost 2–0 to Spain in the semi-final |
The full story of the showpiece is in our World Cup 2026 final report, and our AI Predictor page preserves how the model read every fixture along the way.
How the favourites fared
Spain — champions
The market could never split Spain and France at the top, and Spain settled the argument on the pitch. After a goalless opener against Cape Verde they moved through the tournament like the complete team the traders suspected: 4–0 over Saudi Arabia, 1–0 over Uruguay, then a knockout run of 3–0 (Austria), 1–0 (Portugal), 2–1 (Belgium) and 2–0 (France) before the final. One goal conceded across their first four knockout ties is the stat that travels: the champions were built on the meanest defence in the competition, with Mikel Oyarzabal’s five goals leading their attack.
Argentina — runners-up
The holders took the hard road all the way to the last kick. A perfect group stage gave way to three knockout wars — extra time against Cape Verde, a 3–2 thriller with Egypt, extra time again against Switzerland — before they beat England 2–1 in the semi-final. Lionel Messi, at his sixth World Cup, delivered eight goals and four assists and left as the tournament’s second-top scorer. It took a 106th-minute goal in a final Argentina never trailed until then to deny them back-to-back titles.
England — third
England backed up their third-place billing in the market almost exactly. Jude Bellingham’s seven goals and Harry Kane’s six carried them through to a semi-final against Argentina that got away 2–1, before they won the most entertaining match of the tournament, a 6–4 third-place game against France.
France — fourth
Co-favourites going in, France came up two games short. Spain dismantled them 2–0 in the semi-final and the third-place game turned into a shootout they lost 6–4. The consolations were individual: Kylian Mbappé won the Golden Boot with 10 goals and, on 22 across three tournaments, overtook Miroslav Klose as the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer, with Ousmane Dembélé’s six goals alongside him.
The rest of the contenders
Brazil, Portugal and Germany all fell before the quarter-finals — Brazil’s tournament ended against Norway in the round of 16, and Portugal were edged 1–0 by the eventual champions in the same round. The surprise package was Norway, whose quarter-final run was powered by Erling Haaland’s seven goals, while Switzerland, Belgium and Morocco filled out a quarter-final field that leaned European exactly as the pre-tournament market said it would.
How the hosts fared
Canada
The market gave Canada roughly a 1% chance and the group stage as a ceiling — and this team beat that read comfortably. A 1–1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina at BMO Field came first, then the night BC Place will not forget: a 6–0 dismantling of Qatar, Canada’s first men’s World Cup win, featuring a Jonathan David hat-trick, Cyle Larin’s second goal of the tournament and a strike from Nathan Saliba. A 2–1 loss to Switzerland closed the group, before Stephen Eustáquio’s stoppage-time winner beat South Africa 1–0 at SoFi Stadium — the country’s first knockout-round victory. The run ended 3–0 against Morocco in the round of 16, the best finish in Canadian men’s World Cup history.
United States and Mexico
Both of the other co-hosts also reached the round of 16 and no further: the United States went out to Belgium, and Mexico to England. The market had all three hosts as outsiders against the European and South American elite, and the bracket bore that out — though every host nation won knockout-stage soccer in front of home crowds, which is more than the prices promised.
Other World Cup 2026 outright markets
Every World Cup 2026 outright market is now settled. The Golden Boot page carries the final top-scorer standings, and the World Cup 2026 hub, schedule and standings hold the full results record of the tournament.
World Cup 2026 FAQs
Who won the 2026 World Cup?
Spain. They beat holders Argentina 1–0 after extra time in the final at MetLife Stadium on July 19, 2026, with substitute Ferran Torres scoring the only goal in the 106th minute.
Who finished top scorer at the 2026 World Cup?
Kylian Mbappé, with 10 goals for France. That also took him past Miroslav Klose as the all-time World Cup top scorer on 22. The Golden Boot page has the full final standings.
How far did Canada get at the 2026 World Cup?
The round of 16 — the best men’s World Cup finish in Canadian history. Canada drew with Bosnia-Herzegovina, beat Qatar 6–0 for a first-ever World Cup win, lost to Switzerland, then beat South Africa 1–0 in the round of 32 before going out to Morocco.
How did the 48-team World Cup format work?
The 2026 World Cup ran with 48 teams in 12 groups of four. The top two from each group plus the eight best third-placed teams advanced to a 32-team knockout round, which then ran round of 32, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final — eight matches in all for the champions.
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