Industry data and analytics company Luminate has found that the 2026 World Cup halftime performers experienced considerable jumps in the streams of the songs they performed live at the final on Sunday.

Lionel Messi has arrived back in Argentina for some rest after the World Cup final against Spain.

The World Cup hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico wasn't perfect, but has still been widely hailed as a success.

The World Cup produced hundreds of spectacular moments and The Associated Press covered all 104 games over 39 days in the United States, Canada and Mexico from every angle.

FIFA has opened an investigation after Spain’s celebrations on beating Argentina in the World Cup final took an ugly turn when players briefly clashed on the field.

Madonna opened the World Cup halftime show with her 2000 dance-pop hit “Music,” joined by star Brazilian soccer players of yesteryear, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.

Spain substitute Ferran Torres scored in the 106th minute to give his team a 1-0 win over defending champion Argentina in the World Cup final.

The World Cup final between Spain and Argentina marks the end of the biggest tournament in history.

Expect goals in the World Cup final, as history suggests.

Lionel Messi rarely loses.

The lineup of sports legends simultaneously on the stage at Fanatics Fest on Friday night was almost absurd.

The World Cup final between Argentina and Spain will be refereed Sunday by Slavko Vinčić of Slovenia.

England hired a German coach to end 60 years of hurt but will exit the World Cup in the most English of ways.

The only Argentine golfer in the British Open field was playfully jeered by some spectators on the first tee the morning after his national soccer team’s epic comeback win over England at the World Cup.

The British government has urged FIFA to investigate Argentina's soccer team after players posed with a banner claiming sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.

England desperately wanted to protect its lead as time was winding down in the World Cup semifinals.

The World Cup final is set for Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, featuring a clash between Argentina and Spain.

More than 100 inmates at the sprawling Rikers Island correctional facility gathered in a gymnasium at the complex’s main intake center to watch Wednesday’s semifinal match between England and Argentina.

Argentina faces England in a World Cup semifinal match that pits soccer great Lionel Messi against the young superstar Jude Bellingham.

Defending champion Argentina rallied to beat England 2-1 and reach the World Cup final.

World Cup star Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes has returned to action in the Champions League and captained Shamrock Rovers into the second qualifying round.

How does England coach Thomas Tuchel handle the pressure of a run to the semifinals of the World Cup.

It’s England vs.

It was another game-changing moment at the World Cup that had more to do with television replays in a room far away than a moment of brilliance on the field.

Lionel Messi's World Cup scoring streak ended against Switzerland on Saturday, but he still made an impact with an assist in Argentina's 3-1 victory.

Renowned Argentine soccer player Antonio Rattín has died at 89, the country's soccer federation announced.

The World Cup has narrowed to eight teams, with six from Europe.

Egypt's national soccer team has made history by reaching the World Cup knockout stages for the first time.

Lionel Messi has scored his eighth goal of this year's World Cup against Egypt, extending his streak to nine consecutive games for Argentina.

Lionel Messi did it yet again at this year’s World Cup.

Cape Verde’s World Cup team walked into its Miami hotel after getting eliminated from the tournament, almost in disbelief at the scene in the lobby.

Vozinha's dream was for his mother to see him play at the World Cup, and he achieved that and more.

Hossam Abdelmaguid scored the deciding goal in a shootout, and Egypt won its debut in the World Cup knockout round by beating Australia 4-2 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw.

A dog walker in Buenos Aires has turned a pack of 13 pups into local celebrities by dressing them in Argentina jerseys.

The World Cup knockout stage is set, and some teams might feel like they've drawn the short straw.

Drop thousands of Argentina fans into Texas for the World Cup and the debate is inevitable.

The World Cup has reached its midpoint with 54 matches completed and 50 to go before the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Argentina's Lionel Messi has been mesmerizing.

Argentina’s passion for Lionel Messi has taken shape during the 2026 World Cup through two striking tributes: a giant statue in Patagonia and a mural created by more than 1,300 fans.

Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé delivered dazzling performances on a showcase day for the World Cup’s top scorers.

It’s been goals galore so far at the World Cup.

Lionel Messi’s move to America will look like a masterstroke if he leads Argentina to back-to-back World Cup titles.

Police say that an Uber driver taking American fans of Argentina’s soccer team to a World Cup match was among four people injured in a series of shootings in Kansas City, Missouri, that also left one man dead.

At age 38 and playing in his sixth World Cup, Lionel Messi has his first hat trick in soccer’s biggest tournament and Argentina’s defense of the trophy is off to a flying start.

Some Argentina fans shelled out tens of thousands of dollars to follow the World Cup defending champions around the U.S. One group made a 20-hour drive to Tuesday’s opening match in Kansas City against Algeria, living on sandwiches, to save money.

The biggest World Cup ever has brought some logistics challenges to the 48 teams in a tournament being played across three countries and four time zones.

Tiny Cape Verde pulled off a stunning result in its World Cup debut by holding heavily favored Spain scoreless in a 0-0 draw.

Lionel Messi is ready for his sixth World Cup.

The killing this month of a 14-year-old girl in central Argentina has shocked the country, triggering a groundswell of outrage and growing demands for government action against gender-based violence.

FIFA’s on-field officials for the World Cup will insist on keeping matches moving by taking rule changes designed to limit time-wasting seriously, the sport’s governing body said Sunday with the start of the 48-team tournament now less than two weeks away.

Argentina has arrived in Kansas City, Missouri, to prepare for its World Cup title defense.

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner appears to be struggling with the heat during his second-round match at the French Open against 56th-ranked Argentine opponent Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

Inter Miami confirmed Monday that Lionel Messi has a left hamstring issue, though did not say when the problem is expected to be cleared up.

Lionel Messi headed into the World Cup break a bit earlier than planned, and now it’ll be Argentina waiting to see if there’s an injury to worry about.

Argentina’s beef consumption has fallen to its lowest level in two decades as soaring prices and weakening purchasing power push many families to replace beef with cheaper proteins like chicken and pork.

Argentina’s tourism-dependent province — Tierra del Fuego, home to the southernmost city of Ushuaia — is reacting angrily to the idea that the deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard an Atlantic cruise ship may have emerged from its territory, pushing instead for investigations into the other Argentine provinces passengers visited before boarding the ill-fated cruise.

Injuries to some of soccer’s star players, including Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal, sparked concern ahead of the World Cup.

Oceanwide Expeditions has revealed that 30 passengers disembarked from its cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak on April 24.

Officials and experts in Argentina are scrambling to figure out if their country is the source of a deadly hantavirus outbreak that has gripped an Atlantic cruise.

President Javier Milei of Argentina has restored press access to his government headquarters.

A cruise ship with nearly 150 people is waiting for help off Cape Verde's coast in the Atlantic Ocean after three passengers died and three others were left seriously ill in a suspected hantavirus outbreak.

One of Diego Maradona’s daughters lashed out at neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, who was considered her father’s primary physician at the time of his death, during a negligence trial Tuesday.

Lionel Messi is being sued by a Miami-based event promoter, saying the international soccer icon violated terms of a $7 million contract by missing an exhibition match last year.

Argentina's Congress has approved a bill that eases glacier protections to boost mining investments.

A New York appeals court has overturned a ruling that had ordered Argentina to pay more than $16 billion to former shareholders of YPF, the country’s largest energy company that was nationalized in 2012.

People around the world are cutting back on spending as high gas prices stretch household budgets.

UEFA said Sunday that the game between Argentina and Spain known as Finalissima that was supposed to be held in Qatar has been canceled after the widening Middle East war.

Assisted by a glittering, pink soccer ball, Lionel Messi crossed yet another frontier with his visit to the White House.

UEFA says it still plans for Qatar to stage the Argentina vs.

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lewis Hamilton are among the sports stars whose schedules are in doubt because of the spreading war in the Middle East.

Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei opened Congress with a fiery 90-minute speech highlighting his government’s achievements and praising his relationship with American President Donald Trump.

The United States women's national team has secured its sixth straight shutout victory.

Argentine President Javier Milei has scored a crucial victory in congress with the approval of a sweeping labor reform aimed at radically altering labor relations in the South American country.

Argentine teens are gathering in Buenos Aires parks to dress and act like non-human animals.

Argentina’s largest labor unions have held a nationwide strike to protest President Javier Milei’s flagship overhaul of the country's labor law.

Argentina’s President Javier Milei deepens ties with U.S. President Donald Trump while trying to avoid a break with China, Argentina’s top trading partner.

Argentina’s Senate has given its overall approval to a labor overhaul that is considered crucial to President Javier Milei’s shock therapy program after hours of debate that unfolded in the shadow of a mass protest outside Congress.

Argentina and the United States have reached an expansive trade deal, a win for Argentine President Javier Milei as he moves to open up the South American nation’s notoriously protectionist economy and a reflection of the close alliance between the radical libertarian and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The German soccer federation has ruled out a boycott of the World Cup despite calls from within to send a message to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Florida won’t be getting hit with massive blankets of snow and ice like the rest of the U.S., but even frosty windshields and a few flurries can feel like Antarctica to people with permanent sandal tans.

The vast field of over 5,800 electric and hybrid vehicles gleamed on the cargo deck of the BYD Changzhou, an Chinese container vessel unloading Wednesday at a river port in eastern Argentina.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was absent from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Norway on Wednesday.

Argentine federal police have raided the headquarters of the Argentine Football Association and at least 17 soccer clubs.

Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado have demonstrated in several cities worldwide to celebrate her Nobel Peace Prize win.

The 2026 World Cup draw next week will reward the four highest-ranked teams who are Spain, Argentina, France and England with being placed in separate sections of a new tennis-style seeded tournament bracket.

The Trump administration has announced trade frameworks with Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

Lions, tigers and bears that managed to survive in substandard conditions at a now-shuttered zoo on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, paced weakly in their claustrophobic cages on Thursday, waiting their turn to receive urgent veterinary care for the first time in years.

Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei has won decisive victories in key districts across the country in midterm elections.

President Donald Trump’s plan to cut record beef prices by importing more meat from Argentina is running into heated opposition from U.S. ranchers who are enjoying some rare profitable years and skepticism from experts who say the president’s move probably wouldn’t lead to cheaper prices at grocery stores.

Southern right whales, after coming back from the brink of extinction, are swimming in greater numbers off the coast of Argentina’s Patagonia this year.

Scientists have discovered a new dinosaur from Argentina that may have used its long arms and claws to capture prey.

Spain and Lamine Yamal have taken top spot from Argentina and Lionel Messi in the new FIFA men’s rankings.

Lionel Messi made sure he had good memories of playing a home qualifier with Argentina’s national team for the last time in his illustrious career.

Argentina’s senate has dealt a blow to President Javier Milei’s libertarian agenda overriding his veto on raising disability benefits.

Prosecutors in Argentina have charged the daughter of a fugitive Nazi official with trying to hide an 18th-century painting from authorities following revelations that it had been stolen from a Jewish art dealer during World War II.

Ticket prices for next year’s World Cup will range initially from $60 for group-stage matches to $6,730 for the final, but could change as soccer’s top event adopts dynamic pricing for the first time.

More than 100 fans have been arrested after violence erupted during a Copa Sudamericana match between Independiente and Universidad de Chile.

The United States and Argentina have announced plans to allow Argentine tourists to travel to the U.S. without a visa.

The testimony of U.S. President Donald Trump's pick for ambassador to Buenos Aires has caused an uproar in Argentina.

The fate of Argentina’s state-run oil company has been thrown into doubt as a U.S. judge ordered the cash-strapped country to give up its 51% controlling stake in YPF.