Argentina vs Spain World Cup 2026 Final Preview: Who Will Be Crowned Champions?

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The 2026 FIFA World Cup final is set, with Argentina set to defend their title against Spain in an epic American showdown.

Lionel Messi will go toe-to-toe with Lamine Yamal in a cross-generational game that is sure to go down as one of the most enticing sporting events of all time.

But will the kings manage to keep hold of their crown, or will there be a new team atop football’s throne?

Here’s all you need to know ahead of a tantalising World Cup final…

Where to watch Spain vs Argentina

• Date: Sunday July 19 (local) / Monday July 20 (Australia)

• Stadium: MetLife Stadium, New Jersey, United States

• Kick-off time: 3:00pm (July 19, local) / 5:00am AEST (July 20, Australia)

• TV channel/stream: Broadcast: SBS and SBS On Demand

Form

Spain extended their unbeaten run across all competitions to 37 games with a comprehensive semi-final win against tournament favourites France earlier this week. It’s a mightily impressive streak which stretches all the way back to March 2024, when they were beaten 2-1 by Colombia in a friendly at West Ham’s London Stadium that suggested La Roja were not ready to compete at the highest level again. Now, they are 90 minutes away from becoming concurrent European and world champions.

Meanwhile, Argentina have had to do it the hard way in order to return to the World Cup final stage. Despite breezing through their group with fine wins over Algeria, Austria and Jordan, La Albiceleste have had to conjure up late shows to piece together their four knockout victories.

Messi and Co just about avoided the biggest shock in World Cup history - twice - after they were taken to extra time by Cape Verde in the round of 32, before coming from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 in the final moments of their last-32 tie. Ten-man Switzerland took Argentina to extra-time in the quarter-finals before falling 3-1 in extra time, and England blew a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 in the semis. Argentina have now won their last 14 games on the trot.

Head-to-head

Spain and Argentina were initially slated to meet earlier this year in the ‘Finalissima’, owing to their status as Euro 2024 and Copa America 2025 winners. However, the match in Qatar was cancelled due to unrest in the Middle East, and no resolution could be found on an alternative venue.

Thus, the World Cup final will be the setting for their first meeting since March 2018, where teams managed by Julen Lopetegui and Jorge Sampaoli met in a pre-tournament friendly. Perhaps shockingly, Spain thumped a Messi-less Argentina 6-1 in Madrid, with Isco grabbing a hat-trick.

La Albiceleste and La Roja have met 14 times to date, splitting those matchups equally with six wins apiece plus two draws.

Team news

The big call for Spain boss Luis de la Fuente to make is whether or not he brings Barcelona star Pedri back into the lineup. The playmaker didn’t start either of their wins over Belgium or France, instead coming on as a substitute to bring an extra layer of control to the game.

Despite Nico Williams’ return to fitness, De la Fuente has persisted with Alex Baena on the left wing. Though the Atletico Madrid man has offered little on the ball, he is a hard-working presence out of possession and will likely keep his place.

Lionel Scaloni could be tempted to make a change up front for Argentina following Lautaro Martinez’s heroics against England, with Julian Alvarez’s spot under threat. Giuliano Simeone, son of Atletico Madrid manager Diego, is expected to be dropped after he was repeatedly targeted by the Three Lions in the semi-finals.

Ten of the 11 players that started the 2022 World Cup final for Argentina are still in the squad for 2026, with Angel Di Maria the only one to miss out.

Match insights

A legendary duel

When Yamal first rose to prominence during Barcelona’s 2023/24 season, a rather remarkable photograph re-emerged of his baby self being bathed by a 20-year-old Messi. It all came about after Yamal’s family won a competition run by Catalan newspaper Sport and charity Unicef, who sponsored Barcelona’s shirts at the time.

Even then, the prize wasn’t necessarily a photoshoot with Messi himself, but a Barca player at random. It came down to chance that the two were paired together.

Almost two whole decades later, they will take to the same pitch for the first time in a battle of the consensus GOAT versus someone who could very well challenge for that accolade in the future. Strap yourselves in.

TAB makes Messi the more likely scorer at $5.00, with Yamal close behind at $6.50. Will experience prevail, or is this the moment the next generation announces itself?

Back-to-back champions?

In the history of the men’s World Cup, only two different countries have retained their title - Italy from 1934 to 1938, and Brazil from 1958 to 1962.

Ironically, France missed the chance to become the third team to achieve this in 2022 when they lost to Argentina, who will be hoping they don’t suffer the same fate by falling at the final hurdle too.

Spain’s rule

Should Spain win, it will be another occasion in which they have held the World Cup and European Championship titles at the same time.

Following their Euro 2008 triumph, they picked up their first-ever World Cup in 2010, before retaining the Euros in 2012. However, this run ended with a group-stage elimination at the 2014 World Cup, and they lost their grip on Europe with a last-16 exit to Italy at Euro 2016.

There is another piece of history that Spain are chasing after, as they would become the first country to be world champions in both the men’s and women’s game. Spain defeated England in the 2023 Women’s World Cup final and will contend for that crown again in 2027.

TAB has Spain at $1.66 to lift the trophy, while Argentina are the outsiders at $2.20. Can Spain make more history, or will Argentina spoil the party?

Prediction

It all comes down to this. The best-functioning team against the team with the best player. The side so often written off versus the team that simply won’t die.

We will be in for one hell of a sporting event, let alone a fantastic game of football. It will live up to the hype, make sure of it.

But who will take home the gold? Who will become the champions? Who will win the World Cup? We’re going to pick Spain. It’s difficult to look beyond how comprehensive their dismantling of France was. They are the only team in international football who can control a game from start to finish in that way. 

*Odds correct as of 17/07/26

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