Spain, which climbed to the top of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, walked away with the largest championship prize in World Cup history. As the number of participating nations expanded to 48, the total prize pool also reached a record high, meaning every team from the champion to those eliminated in the group stage received more prize money than in previous tournaments.
Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 after an extra-time battle in the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, held on the 20th (Korean time) at MetLife Stadium (New York·New Jersey Stadium) in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the United States, to claim the title. Argentina, the 2022 Qatar World Cup champion, failed in its bid for back-to-back titles but received the runner-up prize.
According to the prize distribution plan announced by FIFA last December, the total prize pool for this tournament was 727 million dollars (about 1.0746 trillion won), the largest in World Cup history. This is about 50% higher than the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and all 48 nations in the finals receive prize money based on their performance.
Champion Spain receives a championship prize of 50 million dollars (about 73.9 billion won). Adding a participation grant of 10 million dollars (about 14.8 billion won) for reaching the finals and 2.5 million dollars (about 3.7 billion won) in tournament preparation costs, the team secured a total of 62.5 million dollars (about 92.4 billion won).
This is 8 million dollars more than the 42 million dollars received by Argentina, the 2022 Qatar World Cup champion. Compared with the championship prize of France, the 2018 Russia World Cup winner (38 million dollars), the increase is even greater. Since FIFA began disclosing World Cup prize money, the championship prize has steadily grown from Italy's 2.2 million dollars at the 1982 Spain World Cup to 50 million dollars in 2026.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation plans to distribute about 45% of the 50 million dollar championship prize, or 22.95 million dollars (about 34 billion won), to its 26-member squad. Each player receives about 880,000 dollars (about 1.3 billion won), and the federation separately plans to pay a bonus for reaching the finals and a championship incentive.
Runner-up Argentina receives 33 million dollars (about 48.7 billion won). This is 3 million dollars more than the 30 million dollars received by France, the 2022 runner-up. Third place receives 29 million dollars (about 42.8 billion won) and fourth place 27 million dollars (about 39.9 billion won), while quarterfinalists receive 19 million dollars (about 28.1 billion won), round-of-16 teams 15 million dollars (about 22.2 billion won), 17th–32nd place 11 million dollars (about 16.3 billion won), and 33rd–48th place 9 million dollars (about 13.3 billion won) in performance prize money.
The Korean national team also secured a considerable sum through this tournament. Combining the 10 million dollar grant for reaching the finals, 2.5 million dollars in tournament preparation costs, and 9 million dollars (about 13.3 billion won) in performance prize money for group-stage elimination, the team will receive a total of 21.5 million dollars (about 31.8 billion won).
Meanwhile, the U.S. national team received 15 million dollars in performance prize money for reaching the round of 16, securing a total of 16.5 million dollars including the preparation grant. Under a collective bargaining agreement signed in 2022, the U.S. Soccer Federation distributes 80% of World Cup prize money jointly to the men's and women's national team players, with the remaining 20% used for federation operations.
