In order to afford a last-minute ticket to the World Cup final at New York New Jersey Stadium — widely billed as the single most expensive sporting event ever played in the United States — you might have to be a millionaire, as the cost for a coveted seat at the venue crossed the $2m mark less than 24 hours before kickoff.

As Lionel Messi’s Argentina face Spain and their teenage superstar Lamine Yamal, ticket prices have soared on the resale market.

By Friday, nearly all tickets appeared to be sold, with a few listed on FIFA’s sales platform at about $32,000 apiece.

On Saturday, there were no last-minute tickets available on the site. However, FIFA’s resale platform had tickets available from a little less than $10,000 to as high as $2.3m.

The final caps a World Cup where fans were willing to shell out more than ever for a seat at the quadrennial showpiece, as ticket buyers confounded even the greatest cynics in the face of sky-high prices.

It is a fitting end to a tournament that has tested the limits of what fans will spend, with FIFA’s gamble paying off after concerns over visa restrictions and domestic unrest in the US.

“What FIFA did a very good job of was determining what demand would be because people [were] paying these absurd prices for just about all the 104 matches,” said Scott Friedman, a ticketing expert who previously worked for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“A year ago, we didn’t think people would be travelling with Trump’s ICE stuff and all this other conspiracy stuff. But it’s the most popular tournament in the world by far globally, and FIFA, to their credit, they set the prices high, and people ended up paying them.”

According to the Reuters news agency, an analysis of FIFA attendance data found that more than half the 72 group matches were attended to capacity, with most others only a few hundred fans short of a full house. About 99.7 percent of available seats were filled during the preliminary stage matches, FIFA said.

The data erased early concerns that FIFA’s infamously steep prices would put off fans, after swaths of empty seats were seen around the Guadalajara Stadium for the June 11 match between South Korea and Czechia.

As the tournament expanded to its largest-ever field, however, with 48 teams involved, so too did interest among fans.

Prices were set initially at $575 a ticket for group games — more than double the most expensive group ticket available during the 2022 tournament — but FIFA’s dynamic pricing system meant that many ticket holders paid far more.

Hundreds of tickets were still available for the final on Wednesday, priced at little more than $7,000 on FIFA’s platform, a surprising fact that prompted speculation over whether FIFA had finally gone too far with its prices.

But the batch of seats available was likely the result of a process known as “slow ticketing”, Friedman explained, a common practice in mega-events in which organisers restrict inventory to motivate buyers.

“They can act like they already sold their seats and kind of just dribble them in accordingly to obviously increase market demand,” said Friedman, who runs the Ticket Talk Network, dedicated to exploring how seats for sports mega-events are bought and sold.

“Like, ‘Oh, there’s only so-and-so amount of tickets left available in the section, I better buy now,’”

An opaque “dynamic  pricing” process has also proven a boon for FIFA, as the sport continues its uneasy evolution from a working-class game to a pastime of the wealthy.

FIFA introduced dynamic pricing for the first time at this tournament, allowing ticket prices to fluctuate based on real-time demand and other factors.

“One reason for the frustration over the last few months is that no one really knows how this works,” said Adam Elmachtoub, an associate professor of industrial engineering and operations research at Columbia University.

“People are willing to accept dynamic pricing — we deal with it for airfare, we deal with it even [for] buying clothes — but I think when it’s such a high-profile event, transparency will help a lot.”

FIFA introduced a small number of low cost tickets in response to backlash over prices, as politicians including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani lobbied for locals to have access to affordable seats.

A high-quality tournament also spurred demand, with the four top-ranked nations in the semifinals for the first time since rankings were introduced, and Sunday’s final will feature the 39 year okd Messi in what is probably his final World Cup match.

“The notion of what is fair pricing here is complex because entertainment is not like a necessity,” said Elmachtoub.

Lax rules around the resale market in the US have only served to accelerate the pocket-emptying around the tournament, with second-hand ticket sellers largely empowered to set their own prices.

The rules in the US stand in contrast to cohosts Mexico, where resellers are prohibited from listing their tickets above what they spent — and much of the rest of the world.

A flood of final-week listings brought prices down on resale platform SeatGeek, with the average ticket for the final listed for more than $11,000 as of Friday. Still, that figure easily made the final the most expensive event that the platform had sold, 8 percent above the 2024 Super Bowl, SeatGeek said.

“What we’re seeing with this year’s World Cup is that demand fluctuates with every round and every match-up reveal,” said Chris Leyden, senior director for marketing at SeatGeek.

“The appetite for this tournament has held up remarkably well from the group stage through the knockouts.”

Human rights experts warned, however, that the tournament remained out of reach for far too many fans.

At what FIFA President Gianni Infantino had promised would be the most inclusive World Cup, supporters from multiple countries were unable to obtain visas, according to the Sport & Rights Alliance.

“It’s been a World Cup for a happy few,” Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, told reporters.

“Those in Europe, Norwegians, Scottish, who have enough purchasing power to travel to the US, don’t need a visa to enter the country and can afford the extortionate ticket prices.”

[Aljazeera]

England beat France 6-4 in a chaotic World Cup third-place playoff as Kylian Mbappe became the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.

Both teams had higher aspirations at the 2026 tournament but suffered painful semifinal exits – France were outplayed by Spain while England suffered a late collapse against Argentina.

Both coaches made multiple changes for Saturday’s match in the oppressive heat of Miami, with a host of stars on the bench at the start.

England boss Thomas Tuchel left out Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham from his starting lineup while Deschamps, stepping down after 14 years at the helm, omitted Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice put England ahead with a goal from distance in the third minute and Ezri Konsa headed home to make it 2-0.

Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise were a threat as France searched for a way back into the game, but they found England’s second-choice goalkeeper Dean Henderson in top form.

The game threatened to become embarrassing for France when Bukayo Saka made it 3-0 after a swift break.

And it was 4-0 in first-half stoppage time when Saka scored his second goal of the game, celebrated with a fist pump by Tuchel.

France coach Didier Deschamps told French TV channel M6 that the first-half display had been “catastrophic”, urging his men to show pride.

He made four changes, bringing on Dembele, Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Digne and Barcola and was rewarded almost instantly when Mbappe scored his ninth goal of the tournament to move clear of Lionel Messi at the top of the Golden Boot standings.

The game had now totally changed complexion, and Barcola pulled another goal back, with Deschamps clenching his fist on the bench.

Mbappe then netted his second of the game to become the all-time leading World Cup goalscorer with 22 goals – slotting home from Olise’s pass.

That put him two ahead of Messi in the race to finish as top scorer at the 2026 tournament.

France squandered a number of chances to equalise, and England were handed a chance to extend their lead when Malo Gusto brought down Djed Spence in the penalty area.

Saka stepped up to the spot and converted to complete his hat-trick.

There was still time for Dembele to grab a fourth for France, but Bellingham then strode forward to score the 10th goal of the match with an individual effort.

In doing so, Bellingham became the first England player to score seven goals at a World Cup.

By finishing third, England secured their best result at a World Cup since winning the tournament in 1966, though they will carry bitter memories of their defeat by defending champions Argentina.

Deschamps led France to World Cup glory in 2018 and finished as runners-up four years ago.

Les Bleus were favourites to win the 2026 tournament after a sensational start but were well beaten 2-0 by Spain in the semifinals.

Three-time champions Argentina face European champions Spain in the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday.

[Aljazeera]

The Mercantile Cricket Academy under 13 team defeated SSC Blues by 8 wickets to clinch the 2026 Thai Rose Challenge Trophy last Sunday.

The MCA Under 13’s led by Senula Ridmal (Capt) who had Abisis Pansilu as his deputy comprised Dinosh Sajanjana, Evan Perera, Avinda Imash, Kenuka Iruth , Tisath Rathnayake , Puminda Anusara , Pansilu Nishada, Dinhas Savidu , Yomika Silva, Lakira Sandira, Dilaksha Maheesha and Jaden Ranasinghe.

The team was coached by Imran Thahir (Head Coach), Hasitha Lanka (Snr Coach), Situm Fernando ( Snr Coach) and Milan Fernando (Asst Coach)

In the league stage, MCA Under 13s:

defeated BR CA by 96 runs

MCA

216/6 in 29 overs (Avinda Imash 88, Dinosh Sandanjana 34; Abilash Ransha 1-14)

BR CA

120/8 in 29 overs (Cheniru Silva 20*; Pansilu Liyanage 3-07, Dinhas Sasvindu 2-16)

defeated N P by 14 runs

MCA

178/8 in 30 overs (Thisath Rathnayake 63, Avinda Imash 28; Yenura Gamage 3-28, Anuja Wijerathne 4-27)

N P

164/10 in 28.4 overs (Gajindu Athapaththu 32, Kenuth Adikari 35; Puminda Anusara 5-28, Dinosh Sadanjana 2-22)

defeated Bradfield by 77 runs

MCA

167/9 in 30 overs (Dinosh Sadanjana 72, Yomika Silva 26; Kaveesha Fernando 4-22)

Bradfield

90/10 in 24 overs (Kaveesha Fernando 16; Senuka Rithmal 2-10, Lakira Sandira 2-15, Maheesha Kuluthanthrige 2-26, Pansilu Nishaditha 2-16)

defeated SSC Red by 117 runs

MCA

197/7 in 30 overs (Thisath Rathnayake 40, Avinda Imash 64, Evan Shenol 33, Dinosh Sadanjana 31; Military Nandasiri 1-11)

SSC Red

80/9 in 24.3 overs (Ethan Karunarathna 22; Kenuka Hiruth 3-17, Dinhas Sasvindu 3-03)

In the semi-final Pansilu Liyanage and Dinosh Sadanjana captured three wickets each while Thisath Rathnayake scored 41 and Dinosh Sadanjana contributed with 31 to help MCA Under 13s defeat SSC Blues by eight wickets.

SEMI FINAL

MCA defeated SSC Blue by 8 wickets (Parabola method)

SSC Blue

109/9 in 25 overs (Sathil Sanketh 19, Pansilu Liyanage 3-17, Dinosh Sadanjana 3-17)

MCA

80/3 in 16.4 overs (Thisath Rathnayake 41, Dinosh Sadanjana 31; Lashan Sanjitha 2-17)

In the final Dinosh Sadanjana starred with bat and ball (28 and 3/24) to be named player of the final while Evan Shenol topped the score card with 37 runs to be named the Best Batsman of the final.

FINAL

MCA defeated ARS CA by 45 runs

MCA

145/9 in 25 overs (Evan Shenol 37, Dinosh Sadanjana 28; Methuja Binal 2-13, Sanul Perera 2-24, Gihandu Nethsitha 3-16)

ARS

100/10 23.4 overs (Gihandu Nethsitha 34; Dinosh Sadanjana 3-24)