The Spanish royal couple celebrated their national team making their first final since their World Cup victory in 2010
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/King-Felipe-VI-Queen-Letizia-2026-World-Cup-Final-071926-0f080954978d4d2289170dd1f572168c.jpg "King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain wave to the crowd from the stands")
Credit: Tom Weller/picture alliance via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia were on hand to cheer for their national team in the 2026 World Cup final
- Spain’s national team, aka “La Roja,” faced off against Argentina in the soccer game on Sunday, July 19
- King Felipe previously saw Spain win their first World Cup championship match in 2010, traveling to South Africa to support the team
King Felipe and Queen Letizia are cheering on their national team in the 2026 World Cup final.
The Spanish royal couple attended the championship game against Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., on Sunday, July 19. (MetLife Stadium — which is home to the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets — is, for the purposes of the World Cup, temporarily referred to as New York New Jersey Stadium due to FIFA advertising stipulations.)
Credit: Eva Marie Uzcategui – FIFA/FIFA via Getty
King Felipe, 58, and Queen Letizia, 53, could be seen watching the on-field action from a box in the stadium alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. At one point, they shook hands with President Donald Trump, who also attended the match.
Credit: Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty
Letizia showed her team spirit by wearing a red dress to match the Spanish team’s jerseys, while Felipe sported a red tie with his classic black suit.
King Felipe is known to be a big supporter of Spanish athletes, and he previously traveled to London for Wimbledon to support tennis stars including Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal.
Credit: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty
Spain defeated France 2-0 to advance to the country’s second-ever World Cup final. The Spanish national team, nicknamed “La Roja” (“The Red One”), won its first World Cup in 2010.
Following the semifinal win, the official social media accounts for the Spanish royals shared photos and videos of the royal family celebrating in matching versions of Spain’s 2026 World Cup away kit, customized with their names and the number “26.”
“¡España está en la final! 🇪🇸,” they captioned the post. “You have proved again why you are one of the great teams in the world. Now, with a whole country on your side, it’s time to fight for the title. Thank you for letting us enjoy this road. Go for it, @sefutbol!”
Felipe and Letizia’s children, Princess Leonor, 20, and Princess Sofía, 19, were too young to attend the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa, but Spain was represented by Felipe, then the crown prince, and Letizia. Also in attendance were Felipe’s parents, King Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014, and Queen Sofía.
The young princesses were on hand to welcome the Spanish team to a royal reception after their return home. The King and Queen hosted the team at the palace in Madrid, where Spain’s goalkeeper and captain, Iker Casillas, showed the trophy to the then-4-year-old and 3-year-old royals.
Credit: DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP via Getty
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It’s been a big year for the Spanish royal family, especially Princess Leonor, who has balanced her duties as heir to the throne with fun, young adult activities.
She is in the final months of her three-year military training program, during which she spent time with the Spanish army, navy and air force in preparation to assume supreme command of the Spanish Armed Forces when she takes the throne as Queen. Last month, she even became the first member of the Spanish royal family to qualify as a paratrooper.
The future monarch also made sure to take time and enjoy her summer; last month, she and Princess Sofía were spotted dancing in a VIP box at Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour performance at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in Madrid.
“[They were] having the time of their lives,” said journalist Javi Hoyos, who posted a clip of the princesses in a video shared on TikTok. “I love seeing them like regular people. These images are great because they remind us they’re human, they’re young women enjoying themselves.”
