New York, July 20. In the final of the FIFA World Cup 2026 played at the MetLife Stadium in New York, Spain defeated Lionel Messi-led Argentina 1-0 and became world champion for the second time. With this victory, Spain not only won football’s most prestigious trophy but also secured the largest prize money in FIFA history. On the other hand, defending champion Argentina’s dream of winning the second consecutive World Cup was shattered, but despite becoming the runner-up, the team received prize money worth crores of rupees.
FIFA had kept a record prize pool of $655 million.
A record prize pool of $655 million for the 2026 World Cup was approved at the FIFA Council meeting chaired by FIFA President Gianni Infantino in December 2025. This was almost 50 percent more than the 2022 World Cup. All countries were given prize money based on their performance in the expanded tournament of 48 teams.
How much prize money did Spain and Argentina get?
- Champion Spain: $50 million (about Rs 481 crore)
- Runner-up Argentina: $33 million (about Rs 318 crore)
This amount received by Spain is the largest prize money received by any winning team in the history of Men’s FIFA World Cup.
FIFA World Cup 2026 Prize Money List
| place | prize money |
|---|---|
| Champion (Spain) | 50 million dollars |
 Runner-up (Argentina) | 33 million dollars |
 3rd place (England) | 29 million dollars |
| 4th place (France) | 27 million dollars |
| from 5th to 8th place | 19 million dollars |
| From 9th to 16th | 15 million dollars |
| From 17th to 32nd place | 11 million dollars |
| From 33rd to 48th place | 9 million dollars |
48 teams got the benefit of increased prize money
The 2026 World Cup was played in an expanded format of 48 teams for the first time. For this reason, FIFA also made a big increase in the prize money, due to which the teams that reached the knockouts as well as the teams that were eliminated in the group stage got more prize money than before. While Spain celebrates its historic World Cup victory, the record prize fund also brought huge economic benefits to all 48 countries taking part in the tournament.
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