EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Messi magic finally ran dry. After riding a series of dramatic wins to its second consecutive World Cup final, defending champion Argentina came up short Sunday at N.Y. N.J. Stadium, falling 1-0 to Spain in extra time. Despite Spain’s dominance throughout the match, it took a goal by substitute Ferran Torres in the 106th minute to clinch the country’s second World Cup title.
The final drew a largely pro-Argentina crowd of 80,663, marking the 70th sellout of the 104-match tournament. Approximately 16,000 individual hospitality packages were allocated by On Location for Sunday’s match, the most of any during the World Cup. That count included 12 on-the-pitch packages, which cost $1M apiece for access to all eight matches at N.Y. N.J. Stadium and other amenities. The get-in price settled at more than $7,000 in the hours before the game after reaching more than $10,000 in the final days.
While final numbers weren’t immediately available, Delaware North’s GM for the venue, Bill Lohr, said shortly after halftime that he expected the stadium to finish the day with about $3M in concessions revenue and another $3M in retail revenue. Factoring in premium services, he projected that total revenue would approach the venue’s single-event record of $11M, set during Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014.
Lohr added that per caps had been well into the triple digits throughout the World Cup, with the figure for the final expected to be significantly higher than those for the previous seven matches at the stadium.
It was a fitting end to a five-week North American World Cup that reportedly smashed FIFA’s revenue projections.
The enduring image of the tournament -- Spain raising the World Cup -- will forever feature President Trump, who stayed alongside the team as its celebration began after he and FIFA President Gianni Infantino presented the trophy. Despite Infantino seemingly attempting to usher him off the stage, Trump remained at the front of the platform, ensuring his place in the historical record. Trump and Infantino were joined earlier in the ceremony by the leaders of the tournament’s fellow co-hosts, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Heightened security associated with Trump’s presence had a notable impact on matchday, with the Secret Service conducting thorough screenings of fans entering the stadium. Hundreds of media members who arrived as many as six hours before kickoff waited more than two hours to enter the venue, standing in a line that snaked around a blacktop lot. Many were further hampered by erroneous instructions directing them to different entry gates.
Even attendees with sponsor credentials waited in lengthy lines hours before the 3pm ET kickoff. During the hour leading up to the match, the Secret Service locked down a portion of the event-level hallway, temporarily preventing fans from entering or exiting the Pitchside Lounge hospitality area.
Wrapped in blue-and-gold banners touting “The Final,” the open-air seating bowl provided a fitting setting on a sunny day with a kickoff temperature of 80 degrees. The favorable weather came as a relief after a torrential storm caused flooding and disrupted travel throughout the New York metro area just 24 hours earlier. Given that FIFA had several stadiums with roofs to choose from, the governing body narrowly avoided a weather-related disaster of its own making.
The winning Spanish side will receive $50M from the record prize pool of $871M. The winners’ share is an $8M increase from what Argentina earned for winning the 2022 tournament. Runner-up Argentina will receive $33M.
There will be plenty of detailed debriefing of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the coming days. But in the immediate afterglow of the trophy presentation, it is hard to imagine deeming the event anything other than a smashing success for FIFA, the host countries and a soccer-viewing public treated to a thrilling competition.
