FIFA World Cup 2026 - World Cup Final Quiz

Answer: Spain won with a goal in extra time

In the 5th minute a neat one-two between Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal saw the latter's deflected shot well saved by Argentina's keeper Emiliano Martinez. In the 12th minute a Fabian Ruiz cross was cleared behind for a Spanish corner. In the 17th minute Rodrigo de Paul's free kick for Argentina was overhit and went behind. In the 18th minute Yamal's cross was safely gathered by Martinez. In the 24th minute Martinez easily gathered a Spanish corner. Halfway through the first half the match had been an extremely cagey affair, with both sides being very wary of making mistakes. In the 35th minute Marc Cucurella's run to the byline and low cross was cleared for a throw in. At this stage Spain were doing a lot of the attacking but there was no end product.

In the 38th minute Mikel Oyarzabal's shot from outside the area was well saved by Martinez. In the 42nd minute Pedro Porro's cross for Spain had no-one in the area to take advantage of it. In the 43rd minute Cucurella's shot flashed across the goal and past the far post. In the first minute of stoppage time Julian Alvarez's run through the middle looked promising, but the Spanish keeper Unai Simon rushed out of goal and cleared.

Half time, score was 0-0. The half time break was longer than normal so we can have a 'half time show' - the highlight of which was an appearance by The Muppets. On the other end of the scale was Justin Bieber wearing his shirt inside out; we can only assume it was deliberate, it must be an in thing. After what seemed like an interminable distraction, play resumed, how did the extended break affect the concentration of each side?

In the 1st minute of the second half Argentina gave the ball away in midfield and Martinez was forced to save a shot from Alex Baena. In the 55th minute Oyarzabal and Ruiz played a nice one-two in the area, but the danger was cleared by a sliding Otamendi. In the 56th minute Pau Cubarsi's run to the byline and low cross saw the balled cleared by Gonzalo Montiel just before Cucurella could get a shot in. From the resultant corner, Porro's cross went behind. In the 60th minute some comic relief: the referee had awarded Spain a free kick near the edge of the area, in his attempt to retrieve his free kick vanishing foam spray from his rear buckle, he accidentally set it off and Baena had to take cover in the ensuing snowstorm!

From the free kick, Yamal's attempt hit the wall, Baena got the rebound and his shot was blocked. In the 66th minute Porro's cross was headed behind by Nicolas Tagliafico. In the 67th minute Yama's cross was headed into the arms of Martinez by Ferran Torres. In the 73rd minute Giuliano Simeone's low cross into the area was easily cleared by the Spanish defence. In the 74th minute Lamal's through ball was played to nobody. In the 77th minute Pedri's shot was smartly saved by Martinez. From the follow up, Yamal's low cross was cleared. In the 78th minute Cubarsi's hard shot weas beaten away. In the 80th minute Porro's cross was deflected behind by Tagliafico. From the resultant corner Aymeric Laporte's header was saved by Martinez. In the 87th minute Mikel Merino played a through ball to Torres, whose attempt to swivel and shoot at the same time saw his effort go wide. In the 89th minute Rodri's shot for Spain flew over the top. In the 2nd minute of stoppage time Simeone's low cross was gather by Simon. Straight up the other end and Nico Williams' hard shot was parried by Martinez.

In the 3rd minute of stoppage time Enzo Fernandez's strong tackle saw him turn the oncoming Cubarsi base over apex. The referee reached for his pocket, that was the second yellow for Fernandez, so he was sent off. In the inevitable waving of hands and complaints and pushy-shovy by players on both sides, Cucurella was having a discussion with Messi. He put his fingers to his lips for no more than half a second, and Messi tried to indicate to the referee that something had been said to him behind a closed hand, presumably trying to get Cucurella also sent off. The referee, who had a very good game, wisely waved the complaint away and VAR saw no need to intervene. It's just such poor form to see a player deliberately attempt to get another sent off. In the last minute of stoppage time, Spain was awarded a free kick on the edge of the area after Paredes took out the legs of Ferran Torres. From the free kick, Yamal's effort around the wall saw Martinez dive at full stretch to push the ball away. Full time, score was 0-0. Extra time is required. Argentina had no attempts on goal during normal time - none.

In the 3rd minute of extra time Torres' cutback to Lamal just missed his man. From the follow up, Lamal's cross to Williams saw his glanced header saved by Martinez. In the 6th minute of extra time Williams had the ball in the net after a goalmouth scramble, it was disallowed because just beforehand Merino had inadvertently read on Otamendi's toe. Many would argus it was incidental contact and should not have been penalised. In the 11th minute of extra time Porro's cross was cleared by Medina. from the recycled ball, Lamal's attempted curler went high and wide. In the 13th minute of extra time Merino headed wide in front of an open goal from Williams' cross. In the 14th minute of extra time Williams' shot was blocked. Half time in extra time, score was 0-0.

In the 16th minute of extra time Porro's cross to Williams saw his cushioned back header fall to Torres who thumped it into the roof of the net. 1-0 to Spain. At last, a goal. Would Argentina attack now? They had to. At this stage of the match, Spain had had 20 attempts on goal (12 on target). Incredibly, Argentina had had zero. In the 23rd minute of extra time Torres charged downfield on a breakaway and buried the ball past Martinez but he was marginally offside. In the 25th minute of extra time Messi's cross was headed behind by Eric Garcia. From the follow up corner, Messi's cross landed on the roof of the net. In the 26th minute of extra time Nico Williams got away from his marker down the left, cut into the area and completely mis-controlled the ball and it ran out for a goal kick. In the 27th minute of extra time finally, an Argentinian attempt on goal. Messi's thunderbolt from outside the area caught Merino smack in the face. In the 30th minute of extra time a Messi free kick led to a Simeone low cross from the right, and Marcos Senesi's attempt to get on the end of it was blocked by the Spanish defence. From the resultant corner a goalmouth scramble resulted in yet another corner. From that corner the ball ran to Simeone who blasted his shot over the top. In the 4th minute of stoppage time at the end of extra time Messi's long free kick from centrefield sailed into the hands of Simon. Full time, 1-0 to Spain.

After the match, whilst players were congratulating/commiserating, there were one or two who let the occasion overwhelm them. Presumably things were said back and forth. Offence was taken. Paredes put his hand to Garcia's throat and pushed. That came to nothing but it seems Gavi objected so Paredes shoved him to the ground. Paredes became the first player in World Cup Final history to be sent off after the full time whistle.

So, La Roja win the cup and are Champions. Argentina's negative tactics backfired on them and they go home empty handed but for dishonour their actions amassed after the whistle. A purist would say that because Argentina didn't steal the match by taking it to penalties, football won. By their behaviour, football lost.

Some pre and post match facts:
=== Argentina had scored at least two goals in 13 successive games prior to the Final, a World Cup record. The last time they scored less than two was in a 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in their first match in Qatar 2022.
=== Unai Simon has kept seven clean sheets in eight matches during the tournament - the most in a single World Cup. At 65 years old, Luis de la Fuente is the oldest World Cup-winning coach
=== Messi was the oldest outfield player to appear in a World Cup Final. Nicolas Otamendi became the second oldest when he came on as a substitute in the first half. Messi also equalled the record of Brazil's Cafu by appearing in his third Final.

Answer: 0

The score was 0-0 at full time. It looked like being the same at the end of extra time until Ferran Torres popped up in the 16th minute of extra time to score the winner for Spain.

Answer: 2

Oh dear. Until Spain scored in the 106th minute, Argentina had had a total of zero attempts on goal. It had been clear for some time during the match their tactics were to absorb the Spanish attacks and hope to score on the counter. They achieved the first part of their strategy, but when Spain scored 16 minutes into extra time they found that Spain also knew how to defend; after all, they had only conceded one goal in the whole tournament.

In the last 14 minutes, Spain allowed Argentina just two shots on goal.

Answer: Ferran Torres (Spain)

Not only did Torres score the first goal in the final, but he also scored the only goal, the winning goal. Running into the area to slam home Nico Williams' back header from a Pedro Porro cross, his goal in the middle of extra time finally provided Spain with a deserved win against the negative tactics served up by the Argentines.

Answer: Lisandro Martinez (Argentina)

He was the first but by no means the last. Martinez received his yellow for a tackle from behind on Mikel Oyarzabal in the 41st minute. His day didn't get any better, he went down with an unidentified injury toward the end of the first half and had to be replaced by Nicolas Otamendi.

Paredes was the second to see yellow for pushing Dani Olmo to the ground in front of the referee. Worse was to come for Paredes after the final whistle, with his petulance being his downfall. Fernandez got his for dissent, and as example of how silly he was not to keep his mouth shut, he was booked again for a foul near the end of normal time, that resulted in his being sent off, and his teammates having to play with one man down for the whole of extra time. Did that make a difference to the result? Who knows, but it certainly didn't help. Thanks for nothing, Enzo.

Mac Allister and Cristian Romero also got yellows. Spain received none. When Santa checks his naughty and nice list at Christmas some players will have nothing in their stockings except lumps of coal.

Answer: No

To make a nice change at the 2026 tournament, no, there was no VAR intervention during the final.

Answer: Got sent off after the final whistle

And Paredes did it in a World Cup Final! After the match, whilst players were mingling, there were some who let the occasion overwhelm them. Presumably things were said and offence was taken. Paredes put his hand to Garcia's throat and pushed. Gavi objected so Paredes shoved him to the ground. Paredes became the first player in World Cup Final history to be sent off after the full time whistle.

There's a well trodden saying about being gracious winners. The same must be said about losers. This was not the way to represent football or your country.

Answer: Mbappe won by two goals

As at the 22nd minute Messi had touched the ball twice. Firstly, to take the kick off, and once later on when he was fouled the moment the ball came near him. They say, however, that Messi is often at his most dangerous when he appears to have been doing nothing but then he explodes into action. Ss at full time of normal play Argentina had had zero attempts on goal, therefore Messi was marking time in the Golden Ball race at that stage.

After Argentina went a goal behind, they started attacking (too little, too late).

In the end Messi had one shot on goal - had it scored (which it didn't) he still would have trailed Mbappe in the final count.

Answer: Enzo Fernandez (Argentina)

Fernandez had gotten got his first yellow for dissent, and as example of how silly he was not to keep his mouth shut, he was booked again for a foul the 3rd minute of stoppage time Enzo Fernandez's strong tackled saw him turn the oncoming Cubarsi base over apex. That resulted in his being sent off, and his teammates having to play with one man down for the whole of extra time. Did that make a difference to the result? Who knows, but it certainly didn't help. Thanks for nothing, Enzo.

Note: Leandro Paredes was sent off AFTER the completion of the game, therefore outside the scope of the question and also why he wasn't included in the list of potential answers.

Answer: 3

They are in pretty good company- the other teenagers to have played in a Final were Pele (aged 17 in 1958), Giuseppe Bergomi (18 in 1982) and Kylian Mbappe (19 in 2018). Interestingly, every teenager who has ever played in a Final has ended up on the winning side.