2026 World Cup ball and trophy
By Phil West profile image Phil West
2 min read

World Cup Daily: July 19, the final

If you missed the third-place game yesterday, you missed 10 goals. Spain and Argentina likely won't have that many when they face off at today's final.

Whether yesterday's France-England game was "good" is a matter of semantics-driven debate. Any game that features goals like England's third goal (and the farcical French defense on that play) make it hard for me to qualify it as good.

Highly entertaining, though? I'll absolutely say that! And I like that Kylian Mbappé likely sealed up the Golden Boot race in the process.

Following England's 6-4 win over France — we were one goal away from the Three Lions blowing a 4-0 lead! — we get what will likely be a cagier, tighter, and dare I say less fun final today. If you want Spain to win, and I begrudgingly do, you're looking for a similar boa constrictor performance that La Roja had against France. If you believe Argentina is a cat with multiple expendable lives, given their knockout round performance so far, you're looking for just enough time and space remaining for Lionel Messi to make a difference.

Sunday, June 28

  • Canada 1, South Africa 0

Monday, June 29

  • Brazil 2, Japan 1
  • Paraguay 1(4), Germany 1(3)
  • Morocco 1(3), Netherlands 1(2)

Tuesday, June 30

  • Norway 2, Côte d'Ivoire 1
  • France 3, Sweden 0
  • Mexico 2, Ecuador 0

Wednesday, July 1

  • England 2, DR Congo 1
  • Belgium 3, Senegal 2
  • United States 2, Bosnia and Herzegovina 0

Thursday, July 2

  • Spain 3, Austria 0
  • Portugal 2, Croatia 1
  • Switzerland 2, Algeria 0

Friday, July 3

  • Argentina 3, Cabo Verde 2
  • Colombia 1, Ghana 0
  • Egypt 1(4), Australia 1(2)

Round of 16

Saturday, July 4

  • Morocco 3, Canada 0
  • France 1, Paraguay 0

Sunday, July 5

  • Norway 2, Brazil 1
  • England 3, Mexico 2

Monday, July 6

  • Spain 1, Portugal 0
  • Belgium 4, United States 1

Tuesday, July 7

  • Argentina 3, Egypt 2
  • Switzerland 0(4), Colombia 0(3)

Quarterfinals

Thursday, July 9

  • France 2, Morocco 0

Friday, July 10

  • Spain 2, Belgium 1

Saturday, July 11

  • England 2, Norway 1
  • Argentina 3, Switzerland 1

Semifinals

Tuesday, July 14

  • Spain 2, France 0

Wednesday, July 15

  • Argentina 2, England 1

Third-place match

Saturday, July 18

  • England 6, France 4

Final

Sunday, July 19

  • Spain vs. Argentina, 2 pm, East Rutherford, N.J.

Where to watch

Brad Stuver invites you to one of the two Victory Lap locations in town for a World Cup watch party where you can buy a frozen Bomb Pop drink or a Big Mac Pie (big 'Merica energy for both of those) to benefit the Brad and Ashley Stuver Foundation.

What to read

The vice president of the U.S. Soccer Federation has things to say about FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.

By Phil West profile image Phil West
Updated on
world cup