Spain vs. Argentina. Lamine Yamal vs. Lionel Messi. The ultimate team vs. the comeback kids. Will Spain win its second World Cup title, and its first since 2010? Or will Argentina become the first team to win back-to-back World Cups since Brazil in 1962?
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We break down the World Cup final from every angle below. Oh, we previewed tomorrow’s bronze medal game, too, for good measure.
Final Preview
It seems fitting that the biggest World Cup in history has produced a blockbuster final. Defending world champions Argentina will face European champions Spain in a mouthwatering showdown at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday.
Argentina is chasing a fourth World Cup title and a place in history as the first team to win back-to-back tournaments since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Spain is bidding for its second crown after lifting the trophy in 2010.
It will also be the first World Cup match featuring the top two teams in the FIFA rankings since the rankings were introduced in 1992, with No. 1 Argentina facing No. 2 Spain. The final is also the first to feature the reigning European champion and the reigning world and South American champions, and the first to feature two Spanish-speaking nations since 1930.
Despite the quality of both sides, the matchup pits the tournament’s most potent attack against its tightest defense. Argentina has scored the most goals with 19, while Spain has conceded just once.
The spotlight, however, will fall squarely on Lionel Messi, widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all time. The Argentine captain, who dismantled England in the semifinal with two assists, is seeking a second World Cup title to further cement his legacy. A victory would give him something fellow Argentine great Diego Maradona never achieved: two world titles. Maradona lifted the trophy in 1986 before finishing runner-up in 1990.
At 39, Messi continues to defy expectations. He enters the final tied with Kylian Mbappé for the tournament lead with eight goals and ranks second in assists with four, one behind France’s Michael Olise. The 5-foot-7 superstar also holds the all-time World Cup scoring record with 21 goals, one ahead of Mbappé.
He will also join Brazilian full-back Cafu as the only player to have appeared in three World Cup finals. (Three-time winner Pelé missed the 1962 final due to injury).
Messi also shares an unlikely connection with Spain’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal: the pair were photographed together for a 2007 UNICEF charity calendar when Messi was an emerging Barcelona star and Yamal was a baby.
Spain’s demolition of tournament favorites France in Tuesday’s semifinal was arguably the standout performance of the World Cup so far. The foundation of that victory was its control of midfield, where Rodri and Fabián Ruiz dictated the tempo throughout.
Widely regarded as the world’s best defensive midfielder, Manchester City star Rodri could become just the 11th player to win the World Cup, the Champions League and the Ballon d’Or, awarded annually to the world’s best player.
Ruiz, meanwhile, is set to earn his 50th cap for Spain on Sunday after winning back-to-back Champions League titles with Paris Saint-Germain. The midfielder has never been on the losing side in his 49 appearances for his country.
While Spain boasts quality in every area of the pitch, Argentina has shown why it cannot be dismissed. The reigning champions produced late drama in their last two knockout matches, beating England 2-1 and Egypt 3-2 with last-gasp goals after trailing for large portions of both games.
The South Americans enter the final unbeaten in their last 13 World Cup matches, with 11 wins and two draws since their shock opening game defeat to Saudi Arabia at the 2022 tournament.
Spain, meanwhile, is the favorite with most bookmakers and carries a 37-match unbeaten run across all competitions into Sunday’s final, winning 28 of those games and drawing nine. Its last defeat came in March 2024, a 1-0 loss to Colombia.
Bronze medal game
In Miami tomorrow, France and England will play the Bronze final — formerly known as the third-place play-off — after both sides fell short in their pursuit of a place in the final.
Having made deep runs in the expanded 48-team tournament, both teams are expected to make significant changes to their starting lineups, offering opportunities to players who have featured less during the competition.
Coach Didier Deschamps will take charge of Les Bleus for the final time after a remarkable 14-year tenure that included the 2018 World Cup triumph, a runner-up finish four years later and defeat in the Euro 2016 final on home soil.
While the match carries little competitive significance, it could provide Kylian Mbappé with one final chance to claim the tournament’s Golden Boot and add to his career goal tally.
England manager Thomas Tuchel has made clear his lack of enthusiasm for the fixture.
“None of these players, none of the French players, want to play this match. They want to play in the final. We gave everything to be in the final,” Tuchel said.
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