Defending champions Argentina defeat England in eighth and final game at breathtaking venue in Atlanta, Georgia
Spain – like their fellow finalists – played twice at Atlanta Stadium en route to Sunday’s FIFA World Cup 2026™ Final
Two of the four FIFA World Cup 2026 debutants featured there; more than 500,000 fans overall attended matches
Lionel Messi and Argentina were the stars of Atlanta Stadium’s swansong as a FIFA World Cup 2026™ venue with the defending champions beating England to set up a meeting with Spain in Sunday’s final.
Playing at the Georgia venue proved a good omen as both finalists appeared there twice as they progressed towards their title-decider at the New York New Jersey Stadium.
There might have been some initial doubts that Spain would go that far, however, as the 2010 champions kicked off their Group H campaign with a goalless draw against Cabo Verde. It was a surprise result for Atlanta Stadium’s opening game, but the African debutants’ first-ever point would later be shown to be no fluke.
Czechia and South Africa played out another Atlanta draw before Spain returned and cut loose against Saudi Arabia, rushing into a three-goal lead within the opening 24 minutes to set a new team record before rounding off a statement 4-0 win.
Haiti – back in the FIFA World Cup™ for the first time since 1974 – and another of the four tournament first-timers, Uzbekistan, ended their group-stage runs in Atlanta.
Haiti were beaten 4-2 by eventual quarter-finalists Morocco, but bowed out having netted twice in a FIFA World Cup game for the first time. Uzbekistan also scored – their second goal of the tournament – in a 3-1 loss to Congo DR that took the African team into what was, for them, previously unchartered territory: the knockout stage.
They remained in Atlanta to face England in the Round of 32. Congo DR looked set to record a famous victory before Harry Kane became the first England player to score twice in a FIFA World Cup knockout match since the 1990 FIFA World Cup Italy™ as the Three Lions progressed.
Argentina’s first visit, which took the total number of different teams to play in Atlanta to 12, was memorable. Two goals down against Egypt with 11 minutes to play, the three-time champions eventually prevailed thanks to three goals in a frenetic finale to reach the quarter-finals.
Messi extended his record of scoring in consecutive FIFA World Cup matches to nine with an 83rd-minute equaliser before Enzo Fernández delivered the winner two minutes into added time with the 3,000th goal in the tournament’s history.
That drama was only outdone by an epic last-four contest, the eighth and final game at Atlanta Stadium. Fernández was again on target and Messi teed up Lautaro Martínez’s winner as the title-holders’ FIFA World Cup 2026 story continued while Atlanta opened a new chapter in which the tournament’s impact will play a leading role.
"Just as the Olympics [in 1996] gave us a catalytic boost of energy and opportunity and investment, we're making sure that from these FIFA World Cup games, all of these people that came here, they're going to be talking about Atlanta for years to come," the American city’s mayor, Andre Dickens, told local media. "Atlanta has really just shown up in a big way, and I couldn't be prouder of our city."