From Balogun’s red card to Cape Verde’s upset, some of the biggest stories of the 2026 World Cup

For the past 39 days, fans around the world have been rooting for their national teams, gathering in pubs, watching parties and packed stadiums for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. On Sunday, the competition reaches its climax as Spain and Argentina battle it out for soccer’s biggest prize at MetLife Stadium.

Spain is looking to win the World Cup for the first time in 16 years won 2-0 in the semi-final over France on tuesday. Argentina go into Sunday’s final hoping to become back-to-back champions after the game a late comeback over bitter rivals England on Wednesday, won 2-1.

France will play England in the third-place match on Saturday at 5 pm ET in Miami.

The World Cup began with excitement in North America last month as the biggest in history as 48 teams competed in 104 games, jointly hosted in 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The tournament was marred by massive chaos, political interference and an unprecedented race for the Golden Boot. Here’s a look at the highlights of the tournament and what awaits the finalists.

Trump’s request for review of Folarin Balogun’s red card

One moment that captivated and shocked football fans was that of President Trump call FIFA President Gianni Infantino to request a review of the red card given to American star Folarin Balogun.

Balogun was given a red card in the group’s round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1. He was penalized for stepping on Tarik Muharemović’s right ankle. In World Cup tournament soccer, a red card comes with an automatic suspension of the next game.

Mr. Trump told reporters that he was watching the World Cup game and asked for it to be reviewed when he heard that Balogun would miss the US’s Round of 16 match against Belgium.

FIFA postponed a one-match suspension, a change that drew widespread criticism and a failed appeal from Belgium. Balogun was in the first team against Belgium beat the US 4-1 in Seattle.

Balogun said in an interview on Tuesday on “CBS Mornings“that although he was happy to join the team’s match against Belgium, he knew it would “cause a lot of controversy.”

“If something doesn’t happen on purpose … it should never be a red card,” Balogun told “CBS Mornings.” “So it was a bad situation and I think, you know, it put more pressure on us than we needed to.”

The US is the last country to host the tournament

The momentum was rising for the Americans as the US men’s team looked to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in 24 years, but they finally made it. failed to face Belgium in their 4-1 defeat in the round of 16.

It was the fourth time in the last five World Cups that the US men’s team was eliminated at this stage. The team was unsuccessful in 2018.

The US did well in the group stage with their victory Bosnia-HerzegovinaAustralia and Paraguay. Excitement among fans was at an all-time high after Balogun’s suspension, and fans hoped that the “golden generation” team would carry America to the quarterfinals.

But it was the USA vs. Belgium game where things started to go wrong. American midfielder Malik Tillman managed to even the score after half an hour, but the tie lasted almost two minutes after goalkeeper Matt Freese wandered too far into his area, and Belgium scored another goal. The USMNT continued to struggle, and star forward Christian Pulisic was later ruled out with an injury.

“I think we weren’t good enough. It wasn’t our day. We didn’t perform the way we should have done or show our quality,” USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino said.

Despite losing to Belgium, the US final drew an estimated 30 million viewers on Fox, making it the most watched soccer game in US history.

Cape Verde’s Cinderella runs

Cape Verde, which is the third youngest country to qualify for this tournament, played in an unexpected way when it first appeared in the World Cup, attracting audiences around the world.

In the group stage, this team shocked football fans in their first game by scoring a goal against the tournament’s favorite team, Spain.

Vozinha, the 40-year-old Cape Verdean goalkeeper, has gone from obscurity to becoming a global star with over 29 million Instagram followers thanks to his goalscoring exploits.

“This says everything about our country,” said Cape Verde’s coach, Pedro Leitão Brito. “We always say that we want everyone to see our country, our team and show organization and courage and this is a testament to what our country is about – resilience and trying to overcome adversity.”

The team went on to finish with a 2-2 draw against two-time champions Uruguay and a 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia.

Cape Verde almost pulled off an upset against three-time World Cup champions Argentina in the round of 32 after the team drew Argentina twice, but ultimately fell short in extra time, losing 3-2.

Nobody should ask where Cape Verde is now,” said defender Pico Lopes. “They know where we are.”

Cristiano Ronaldo and other football stars announced their retirement from the World Cup

The 2026 World Cup is the last for many of football’s best stars. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo played his last match at the World Cup against Spain, where Portugal were eliminated 1-0 in the round of 16.

In his final match of the tournament, Ronaldo scored his first World Cup qualifying goal in the 68th minute of Portugal’s round of 32 match against Croatia.

“I’m sad to leave the World Cup in this way,” he said after the game. “As I said yesterday, I gave everything, and I leave with a clear conscience. That’s the life of a footballer. You have to move forward.”

Although Lionel Messi, 39, has not officially said that this will be the last World Cup, it is quietly expected that he will play for the sixth and last time, a World Cup record tied with Ronaldo. And the endless wonder continued to amaze. Going into Sunday’s final, he has eight goals in the competition, tied with France’s Kylian Mbappé for leading the race for the golden boot. Messi also scored 21 goals in the history of the World Cup.

Other football stars who have confirmed that it will be their last World Cup include Luka Modrić from Croatia, Neymar from Brazil, Manuel Neuer from Germany and Kevin De Bruyne from Belgium.

“I tried,” said Neymar. “It started here at MetLife Stadium, I finished here. Now it’s over.”

The 2026 World Cup final will feature the tournament’s first ever halftime show

For the first time in the tournament’s history, FIFA will perform an 11-minute halftime show during a World Cup final with Justin Bieber, Madonna, Shakira and BTS as headliners. Burna Boy, Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the PS22 Chorus, alongside Coldplay, will perform.

The World Cup had three different opening ceremonies for the countries that will be participating for the first time this year, Shakira and Burna Boy, Michael Bublé, Jessie Reyez, Katy Perry, Future, LISA of Blackpink, Anitta, Rema and Tyla performed.

Spain and Argentina both have previous World Cup titles

Winning the World Cup for Spain this year will be the second in the country’s history after winning the first and only men’s title in 2010. The Spanish team defeated the Netherlands 1-0 in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was the only time Spain reached the World Cup final.

Argentina’s road to the finals went awry after the team needed extra time to beat Cape Verde, then made an unlikely comeback to beat Egypt 2-0 in the round of 16 and beat Switzerland 3-1 in extra time. On Wednesday, the team returned at the last minute, they beat England 2-1.

Argentina has won the World Cup three times – 1978, 1986 and 2022. If Argentina become back-to-back champions, they will be the third country to do so. Italy were repeat winners in 1938, and Brazil in 1962.