FIFA raises World Cup 2026 winners' prize to £37m as Spain and Argentina meet in final

FIFA has raised the prize money for winning the 2026 World Cup to £37 million, almost £6 million more than Argentina received after their triumph in Qatar in 2022 — a figure that underlines what England’s semi-final exit to Argentina on Wednesday will cost them.

Spain and Argentina meet in Sunday’s final, with the victorious squad set to share 45 per cent of the top prize. That works out at roughly £640,000 gross per player — or approximately £324,000 after tax, according to Spanish outlets Cope and ABC. The deal governing the players’ share was negotiated by Spanish Football Federation president Rafael Louzan.

Runners-up will receive £28 million, with 40 per cent — around £9.8 million — distributed among the players. On an individual basis, that amounts to £374,000 gross and £196,000 net.

To put the figures in context, Spain’s players earned around £366,000 gross each for winning Euro 2024 in Germany, beating England in the final. The World Cup winners’ share is little more than double that amount. The Champions League winners’ bonus, by comparison, stands at roughly £21 million for the club, though total seasonal payouts across the competition can exceed £85 million.

In total, approximately £741 million will be distributed across all 48 competing nations at what is the largest World Cup in history. Every national association that qualified received a base payment of £8 million simply for taking part.

England manager Thomas Tuchel, whose tactical approach drew widespread criticism following the Argentina defeat, insisted he remains the right person to lead the team forward to Euro 2028, which will be hosted in the United Kingdom.

“Yes, 100 per cent,” Tuchel said when asked if he should stay in the role. “There is still enough to improve, and I am more than happy to do that. I still think we can show how good football players we are. I still feel there is an extra level that we need to conquer.”

England will now face France in Miami on Saturday in the third-place play-off, looking to salvage a bronze medal from a tournament that promised considerably more.