Where to Watch the FIFA World Cup Final in Ubud, Bali

Where to Watch the FIFA World Cup Final in Ubud

On Sunday, July 19, the 2026 FIFA World Cup comes to an end at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, with kickoff at 3:00 PM Eastern Time — which lands at 3:00 AM WITA on Monday, July 20 here in Bali. It is the single biggest football match on the planet, closing out a tournament that expanded to 48 teams for the first time in history, and it deserves more than a laptop screen and a bad Wi-Fi connection in your villa.

If you’re searching for where to watch the FIFA World Cup Final in Ubud, the answer is The Melting Pot Saloon. We’re Ubud’s officially licensed World Cup screening venue, and we’re staying open through the early hours of July 20 specifically for this match — sound on, screens up, and a room full of people who understand exactly what’s at stake.

This has been one of the wildest, most emotional World Cups in recent memory, and before we get into why The Melting Pot is where you want to be for kickoff, it’s worth walking through exactly how we got here — because this tournament has given us more storylines than most entire decades of football.

The Road to the Final: A 2026 World Cup Tournament for the Ages

This World Cup opened with a moment nobody will forget. In Argentina’s very first game of the tournament, Lionel Messi scored his first-ever World Cup hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria, tying Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup goal-scoring record of 16 in the process. Messi, at 38, became the oldest player to score a hat-trick at a World Cup, and the goals came almost exactly 20 years to the day after his World Cup debut. He was visibly emotional walking off after being substituted to a standing ovation — and for a player who had already won everything the sport has to offer, it was a reminder that the man still has magic left in his boots. It set the tone for a tournament that has not let up since.

Cristiano Ronaldo, playing in his sixth World Cup at age 41, has had a much rockier campaign by comparison — a frustrating 1-1 draw against DR Congo in his opener had fans and pundits questioning whether age had finally caught up with him. But Ronaldo has kept grinding through the tournament, and Portugal have found a way to keep advancing regardless, most recently edging past Croatia 2-1 in the Round of 32, with Ronaldo converting a penalty before Gonçalo Ramos snatched a stoppage-time winner. With both Ronaldo and Messi widely expected to be playing in their final World Cups, every match either man plays right now carries the weight of a farewell tour — and remarkably, the two have never faced each other at a World Cup in six combined tournament appearances. If both Argentina and Portugal keep winning, 2026 could finally be the year that changes.

Beyond the two biggest names in the sport, this tournament has produced one of the great underdog stories in World Cup history — and it’s a story so good it deserves its own section entirely, below.

There’s also been no shortage of chaos in the bracket itself. Morocco needed penalties to get past the Netherlands. Paraguay knocked out Germany, also on penalties, reaching the Round of 16 for the first time since 2010. Spain, the reigning European champions and one of the tournament favorites, have looked shaky at times but ground out a 3-0 win over Austria to stay alive. It’s the kind of tournament where nobody — not even the biggest football nations on the planet — has had it easy, and that unpredictability is exactly why the closing stretch has been must-watch football regardless of which teams you personally support.

Vozinha: The Real Story Behind the World Cup's Viral Goalkeeper Sensation

If there’s been one human story that has defined this World Cup more than any other, it’s Cape Verde’s goalkeeper, Vozinha.

Cape Verde — an island nation of roughly 530,000 people, the third-smallest country ever to qualify for a World Cup — walked into their opening match against Spain as one of the biggest underdogs of the entire tournament. Spain came in as pre-tournament favorites. Cape Verde had never played a single minute of World Cup football in their history. What happened next stunned the football world: Cape Verde held Spain to a scoreless draw, with Vozinha turning in one of the great individual goalkeeping performances the tournament has seen — seven saves, several of them world-class reaction stops against a Spanish attack that threw 27 shots at his goal. He was named Man of the Match and left the pitch in tears, later explaining that the moment meant even more because his grandparents, who had raised him, had passed away before they could see it, and his mother had been unable to get a visa in time to attend.

Within hours of the final whistle, Vozinha’s Instagram following exploded — from roughly 50,000 followers to well over a million within the day, and eventually surging past 20 million by the time his World Cup run ended, a figure that reportedly overtook the social media audiences of major NFL and NBA stars. It’s one of the fastest individual fame explosions football has seen in years, and it turned a 40-year-old goalkeeper most casual fans had never heard of into one of the most recognizable faces of the entire tournament.

Here’s the real story behind the man, because it’s genuinely remarkable on its own merits: Vozinha — real name Josimar José Évora Dias — didn’t turn professional until age 25, an unusually late start by football standards, after being told as a kid that he was too small to make it as a keeper. From there, he built a two-decade professional career across some of football’s less glamorous leagues — spells in Angola, Moldova, Portugal, Cyprus, and Slovakia — picking up just a single trophy along the way (a Cypriot Cup in 2018-19) before eventually returning to represent Cape Verde, the country he’s played for since 2012. This World Cup, his country’s first ever, is by his own admission the biggest moment of his career and possibly his life.

A word of caution on this one: in the days after the Spain match, a viral (and completely false) rumor spread online claiming Vozinha was actually an amateur — an electrician or bus driver by day who moonlighted as a World Cup goalkeeper. It’s a great story. It’s also not true. Vozinha has been a full-time professional footballer for close to 20 years. The real story — a late-blooming journeyman from one of the world’s smallest football nations holding off one of its biggest — needs no exaggeration to be compelling, and multiple outlets have since debunked the amateur myth entirely.

Cape Verde’s fairytale run eventually came to an end in the Round of 16, in a genuinely dramatic clash against Argentina and his childhood idol, Lionel Messi. Messi opened the scoring, but Cape Verde fought back twice to force extra time, with Vozinha producing eight saves — his best single-match total of the tournament — before Argentina finally broke through in the 111th minute to win 3-2. Across the tournament, Vozinha finished with 18 total saves, a remarkable return for a goalkeeper making his World Cup debut at 40 years old, and he left the pitch to a standing ovation from neutral fans everywhere, having turned Cape Verde’s first-ever World Cup into one of the most talked-about stories of the entire competition.

World Cup Final Predictions: Who's Favored to Lift the Trophy?

With the knockout rounds in full swing, bookmakers and analysts have started narrowing in on who’s most likely to be standing at MetLife Stadium on July 19. Here’s how the picture looks heading toward the Final:

France have emerged as the tournament favorites, and it’s not hard to see why — Kylian Mbappé has been in ruthless form, topping the Golden Boot race, and Les Bleus have looked like the most complete side left in the draw. If they continue on their current path, a quarterfinal date with Morocco awaits, and France will go in as heavy favorites for that one too.

Argentina sit as the clear second favorites, and for good reason — Messi’s Argentina have looked dangerous in every match so far, and after surviving a genuine scare against Cape Verde, they’ve drawn what many analysts consider the easiest remaining path to the Final of any of the top contenders. Egypt stand between them and the quarterfinals, followed by the winner of Switzerland vs. Colombia.

Spain round out the top three in most odds boards, still considered the biggest threat to a France-Argentina final, on the back of their status as reigning European champions and a squad stacked with young talent like Lamine Yamal.

Behind that trio, England, Brazil, and Portugal make up the next tier of contenders — all sides capable of a deep run, but each considered longer shots to actually go all the way. For Portugal specifically, Ronaldo’s fairytale farewell would need his side to navigate a genuinely brutal bracket, including the very real possibility of facing Spain before the semifinals even arrive.

Our dream final? Argentina vs. Portugal — Messi vs. Ronaldo, head-to-head at a World Cup for the first time ever, with both men widely expected to be playing their final tournament. It’s a longshot given the draw, but if this World Cup has taught us anything, it’s that this edition still has plenty of drama left to give. Whoever makes it through, one thing is certain: the Final on July 19 will be the culmination of 104 matches and 39 days of football, and it’ll be shown live, loud, and on the big screen at The Melting Pot Saloon.

(Odds referenced above are for entertainment and context purposes only — not a recommendation to bet.)

Why The Melting Pot Saloon Is Ubud's Best Spot to Watch the Final

We’re Ubud’s officially licensed World Cup screening venue. This isn’t a grey-area stream that might drop mid-match. The Melting Pot Saloon has purchased the official broadcast rights to screen FIFA World Cup 2026 matches in Bali, which means you watch legally, loudly, and without the anxiety of a buffering wheel during a penalty shootout.

Sound is always on. Plenty of venues in town can put the game on screen, but they can’t give you commentary and crowd noise. We can — every time, every match, and especially for a Final of this magnitude.

19 craft beers on tap — the largest selection in Ubud. Whatever country you’re rooting for, we’ll have something to toast the winning goal with.

Big screens built for the occasion. Between our 80” TV and full projector setup, there isn’t a bad seat in the house for a match this size.

We’re staying open specifically for this. A 3:00 AM kickoff means most of Ubud will be asleep. We won’t be. Doors will be open well before kickoff so you can grab a table, order food, and settle in before the whistle blows.

Texas-style food to fuel a 3 AM watch party. Burgers, ribs, quesadillas, and Texas chili — because a match this big deserves more than a bag of chips at home.

Whether you’re Argentine, Portuguese, French, Brazilian, or simply a football fan who wants to be in a room full of people when the final whistle blows, The Melting Pot Saloon is where Ubud will be watching the World Cup Final.

World Cup Final Match Details: Date, Time & Location in Ubud

Match: 2026 FIFA World Cup Final Date: Monday, July 20 (Bali Time) Kickoff: 3:00 AM WITA (Bali Time) Where: The Melting Pot Saloon, Jl. Raya Pengosekan (Hanoman) No. 22X, Ubud Entry: Free Recommendation: Come early — doors open well ahead of kickoff, and seats for a match this size will not last.

Message us on WhatsApp to reserve a table for the Final: +62 812-4641-0890

The Melting Pot Saloon is Ubud’s Texas-style saloon and officially licensed FIFA World Cup 2026 screening venue — 19 craft beers on tap, Texas-style food, 11 games, and live sport every day with the sound always on.