A little more than 24 hours before Spain and Argentina contest the final of the FIFA World Cup 2026™, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that while fans will be watching to see who lifts the iconic gold trophy, they will also be filling New York New Jersey Stadium and tuning in from all corners of the globe because Sunday’s showpiece will represent the exciting conclusion to an enthralling and record-breaking story.

The final will serve as the fitting climax to a transformative tournament. But it will not define it. Whether Argentina earn their fourth star or Spain their second, this 48-team, 104-match FIFA World Cup™ has already made its indelible mark on history.

“Tomorrow, we’ll hand over this trophy here to one country, and it will be a very special moment, of course, here in New York New Jersey. And we know already that tomorrow, the entire world will be watching. The entire world will be watching because, of course, they want to know who is winning the (FIFA) World Cup,” Mr Infantino said on Saturday at a New York City breakfast event for FIFA Member Association (MA) executives.

“But the entire world will be watching as well because this FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States has been the most incredible event in human history. Not just the biggest (FIFA) World Cup, it has been the greatest sporting, social and cultural event in humanity. I think we have to invent some new words,” the FIFA President added referring to the unchartered landmarks that this tournament has now established.

Indeed, the response to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the three host countries and around the world has been beyond expectations and description. The numbers are staggering and represent a reflection not only of football’s unique power to unite and inspire, but of support for the ambitious and forward-thinking decision to expand the tournament to 48 teams.

“You probably have read before a lot of doubts and critics, and this and that, the stadiums will be empty, and the visas will not come, the teams will not be able to play, and this and that,” Mr Infantino said. “And everything worked exactly the other way. We silenced all the critics. The power of the game, the magic of the game, took over. Soccer conquered America and America has become now a soccer country.”

The list of records is lengthy. Up to and including the two semi-finals, more than 6.6 million fans had filled the 16 state-of-the-art venues across North America. That figure easily surpassed the attendance record set back at the 1994 FIFA World Cup USA™ (3.6 million) and is greater than the combined attendance at the two most recent FIFA World Cups in 2018 and 2022 combined. The 99.7% capacity figure is also an all-time record.

The enthusiasm was not limited to those 16 stadiums, however. More than 8.5 million fans have visited the official FIFA Fan Festivals in Canada, Mexico and the United States. Television viewership records were shattered in the host nations and across the world, while FIFA’s digital and social media channels received an astonishing 34 billion impressions and 2 billion engagements until the end of the quarter-finals. Until just the conclusion of the round of 16, 5.2 billion people – nearly two-thirds of the planet’s population – are estimated to have engaged at least once with the tournament.

“From an engagement – a world engagement point of view – from a community point of view, from a social point of view, from a cultural point of view, this has been a huge success, and we have seen that when people come together they want to celebrate, they want to enjoy,” the FIFA President said.

“Now the FIFA World Cup as well is, of course, it looks nice when you watch it on TV. I hope, I think, from the matches I've seen on TV, it definitely does. It looks beautiful when you're there, when you're in the stadium, when you feel this energy. By the way, did you see all these families in the stadiums? All these women in the stadiums? All this positivity in the stadiums? Fans from different parts of the world, from different countries were so excited about it.”

That product, presentation and sense of inclusion and celebration was enhanced by the FIFA World Cup’s expansion to 48 teams – by the stunning performance of Cabo Verde, the inspiring qualification of teams like Curaçao, Haiti and Uzbekistan, and the infectious enthusiasm of the players and fans from Jordan, Norway, Scotland and more. Again, fears were proven to be unfounded as the additional teams demonstrated their worthiness of the world stage.

Each of the four FIFA World Cup debutants (Cabo Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan) scored at least one goal. Forty-two teams earned at least one point – including sides from all six continental confederations – and seven nations made their knockout stage debut (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cabo Verde, Canada, Congo DR, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt and South Africa). And the quality of the football was excellent, as the goals-per-game average rose to 2.91 from the 2.69 recorded four years ago. From the new round of 32 through the semi-finals, an incredible 14 matches featured a result-changing goal after the 85th minute.

“So many games, that were decided at the end… and this shows that the quality of the world is there,” the FIFA President said. “So, 48 teams means more countries can believe, more children can hope, more opportunities can be given to the world to participate in the global game, in the global sport.

“So much for those who were saying as well that 48 teams is diluting the quality of the (FIFA) World Cup. It has actually made it much, much stronger. Our idea, as you know, because we took this decision together, was not just to increase to 48 teams in order to have more matches, in order to make the (FIFA) World Cup bigger. It was to change the game. It was to make football truly global. It was to unite the world. It was to give more chances to participate, of course, to those who are always left on the side.”

Staging an event of that scope and scale is not easy, and it required a historic level of cooperation from Canada, Mexico and the US, as well as the dedication and talent of some 5,000 staffers, almost 50,000 volunteers and 300,000 accredited personnel working across the 16 Host Cities and 646 official tournament sites.

The FIFA President on Saturday expressed his thanks and gratitude to US President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for their “incredible, fantastic support”. He also thanked FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström and his staff for their “great, great work”.

Mr Infantino said, “This requires a lot of qualities, a lot of commitment, a lot of work, a lot of dedication by so many people. We got it all done.”

As for the MAs, they are the foundation of FIFA. The seismic success of this FIFA World Cup, from the enhanced access and opportunity available on the pitch to the resources and revenue garnered off it, will be used to support and uplift the beautiful game in countries and communities from every corner of the globe.

“All of you, all 211 (FIFA) Member Associations – the support that we get every day, that I get, that my team gets is really felt and it’s really appreciated, and we couldn’t do it, honestly, without this incredible support of all of you. So, this success on which we will build, and we have to build, is your success,” Mr Infantino said.

“It has been a great emotion to be part of it. It is still. I mean, the climax is still coming – two more matches to go – but, so far, already, it has been an incredible success, an incredible success story.”