When all is said and done on the 2026 World Cup, it will be remembered for some brilliant moments off the pitch, but some uncomfortable ones away from it as well. In particular, the actions of FIFA president Gianni Infantino have raised eyebrows in the football community.

In the build-up to the tournament, despite Mexico and Canada also hosting the competition, Infantino only seemed interested in cosying up to United States president Donald Trump. Some within FIFA were said to have been left feeling ‘deep embarrassment’ after watching their boss hand Trump the inaugural peace prize, while the Swiss football administrator was also accused of breaking FIFA rules by wearing a MAGA-style red hat in February.

During the World Cup, his relationship with Trump has sparked even more debate, as the US president appeared to lean on Infantino as FIFA decided to allow USMNT striker Folarin Balogun to play against Belgium despite his red card in the previous game. Following that controversy, European lawmakers are now gathering support to launch an investigation in the European Parliament.

Balogun Controversy Could Spark Investigation into Infantino

REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Balogun picked up a red card in the USMNT’s Last 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. In normal circumstances, he would have been suspended for the next game, but after intervention from Trump, FIFA allowed the 25-year-old forward to start against Belgium. The US lost the match 4-1, but the unprecedented decision to suspend Balogun’s suspension for one year continues to spark debate.

European Parliament lawmakers Barry Andrews, Lara Wolters and Niels Fuglsang have now revealed plans to investigate Infantino for his involvement in the controversy. In a joint statement, they said that FIFA’s decision to “change the rule on red card suspensions mid-tournament is a disgrace and a perversion of justice.

As per ESPN, the lawmakers are asking the national football associations of the EU countries to spur the FIFA Ethics Committee to investigate Infantino and whether pressure from the Trump administration was a factor in the lifting of the suspension, as well as “other potential breaches of political neutrality” like awarding Trump the FIFA Peace Prize.

The lawmakers said that 35 colleagues have so far signed the letter, with the statement added:

In response to the backlash, FIFA reasoned that the lifting of the suspension was a decision of a disciplinary committee. This situation between Trump, Infantino and the US could be viewed as ‘political interference’, which has previously been cited by FIFA as a reason to ban 10 nations from footballing events.

Trump’s Involvement in FIFA’s Balogun Decision

Credit: Aaron Schwartz / Pool/Sipa USA

Trump has openly admitted that he pressured FIFA into letting Balogun play vs Belgium. In light of the news, he told the media:

“All I did was I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul. Again, I’m good at this stuff. I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes who crashed into each other and got entangled. That was not a guy punching somebody in the face or anything that would be different.”

Adding to this, the Guardian have reported that Trump made three calls to FIFA to ensure that the change was made. That said, he denied that Infantino made the final decision, suggesting it was down to a seperate committee: “I didn’t tell them what to do. I can’t tell them what to do. I don’t believe he [Infantino] made the decision.

“I think it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision because, number one, it wasn’t a foul, and you want to see a game with your best players. How would you feel if you took [Lionel] Messi, or [Cristiano] Ronaldo or Harry Kane out? You can’t do that.”

The 2026 World Cup final takes place on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and it will be the most watched event of the year across the world.

In 2022, the famous Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé final was viewed by 1.5 billion people with near to six billion engagements on social media: it really is that monumental.

Fans around the world will want to have their viewing plans confirmed ahead of time, from the right TV channels and streaming platforms to whether the match is available free to air where they live.

Whether you’re watching live, lining up playback for later, or just hunting down highlights the next morning, this guide confirms, to the best of our ability, the viewing options for the final in every region of the world.

Where to Watch the World Cup Final Worldwide

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Every region has different television and streaming rights and while many will pile into a bar to view the game, many will want the comfort of their own home.

Here’s where you can watch and stream the final, and the estimated time for the final, which is set to be 15:00pm local time in the US.

North America

Europe

South America

Africa

Asia

How to Watch World Cup Final Free

REUTERS/Mike Segar

The most accessible route is through free-to-air access. It is still very commonplace in the present day, even in countries where group-stage matches sit behind subscriptions.

Many national broadcasters opt to showcase major events like the final on free terrestrial channels. In the United States, FOX is set to broadcast the final free for all, which makes sense for a tournament being played on home soil.

Across the world, the same pattern holds: the BBC and ITV both carry the final free-to-air in the UK, as do NHK in Japan, SABC in South Africa, CCTV in China, and TV Globo in Brazil, among others.

Where streaming services are showing the game in a given region, they typically offer free trials timed to the tournament, giving fans short-term access without committing to a long-term subscription.

World Cup Final Highlights

Henry Romero via Reuters

This is the most straightforward part of accessing the World Cup final. Whilst social media will be flooded with clips, both official and non-official, highlights will be available almost instantly after the final ends.

Most broadcasters around the world will have their own official highlights that should go live within the hour of the match ending. However, the first port of call will ideally be FIFA’s official YouTube, as they upload highlights of all the games.

Some broadcasters will have short and compact highlights with just the major events, but others will share extended highlights that give a better detailed look at the game, but those tend to come a few hours or even a day after in most cases.

The UFC has been home to some of the most devastating and hard-hitting punchers in professional mixed martial arts, with many having displayed complete destruction under the promotional MMA fighting company.

The likes of Derrick Lewis, Tom Aspinall, Mark Hunt, Junior dos Santos, Thiago Santos, and Sergei Pavlovich are just some of the powerful stars that have shown off their strong punching abilities under the UFC banner in recent times.

However, UFC President and CEO, Dana White, who has seen all the top punchers perform in MMA over the years, knows who is the undisputed hardest puncher to ever represent the UFC.

Dana White’s Hardest Puncher in UFC History Revealed

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According to past comments made by White at UFC 220 in January 2018, Francis Ngannou is the hardest puncher ever in UFC history.

When White was introducing the Cameroonian fighter to the crowd before his first clash with Stipe Miocic eight years ago, he laid out the facts to prove just how devastating the fighter’s punching abilities were.

“Francis is a guy who has the world record for the most powerful punch. His punches are equivalent to 96 horsepower. That’s equal to getting hit by a Ford Escort going as fast as it can,” the UFC boss explained ahead of the heavyweight world title showdown eight years ago.

“And it’s more powerful than a 12-pound sledgehammer from full force overhead. Holy s***,” White added back then.

However, White’s praise for Ngannou’s power did little for the MMA star during UFC 220, as Miocic was able to steer clear of the hard-hitting punches and was able to out-wrestle his opponent over five rounds.

Ngannou lost via unanimous decision, but he did get his revenge on the American three years later at UFC 260, knocking him out with a ferocious left hook inside two rounds to claim the UFC heavyweight championship.

Following the rematch win, Ngannou successfully defended his heavyweight crown against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 a year later, before stepping away from fighting under the UFC banner and pursuing a career in professional boxing.

Francis Ngannou’s Departure From UFC

The former UFC heavyweight star went on to face former boxing heavyweight world champions, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

While Ngannou held his own against Fury, by knocking down the British star in the fifth round and losing controversially on points, he was taught a boxing lesson by Joshua, losing via a thumping knockout inside just two rounds.

Ngannou has since returned to the cage, albeit not with White and the UFC banner. Instead, he has fought in MMA events organised by both the Professional Fighters League (PFL) and Most Valuable Promotions (MVP).

The heavyweight knocked out Renan Ferreira in just a round in the headlining contest at PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants in 2024. He then secured another opening knockout win two months ago on the undercard of the MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano card, stopping Philipe Lins.