Argentina will seek to break a drought that only Italy and Brazil have managed to avoid

Argentina has the opportunity this Sunday to achieve what no world champion has accomplished in over six decades: to defend the title in the following edition. La Albiceleste will face Spain in the final of the , which will take place at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

With their presence in this decisive match, the team led by Lionel Scaloni became only the sixth national team in history that, after being crowned champions, returns to compete in a final in the immediately following tournament. This elite group includes Italy (1934-1938), Brazil (1958-1962), Argentina (1986-1990), Brazil (1994-1998), and France (2018-2022).

However, the records are not encouraging. Of the five teams that reached the final as defending champions, only Italy and Brazil managed to retain the title: the Italians with the crowns from 1934 and 1938, and the Brazilians linking the victories from Sweden 1958 and Chile 1962.

The other three attempts ended in defeat. Argentina lost to Germany 1-0 in Italy 1990 after having won in Mexico 1986. Brazil fell in the final of France 1998 to the host nation by 3-0, after winning the Cup in the United States in 1994. And France was unable to defend its title from Russia 2018, losing on penalties to Argentina in Qatar 2022.

If the Albiceleste defeats Spain this Sunday, it will become the third team capable of winning two consecutive World Cups and will end a wait of more than six decades, since Brazil achieved it in 1962.

The match also has a unique personal dimension. Lionel Messi, at 39 years old, is playing what he has described as "surely his last match in a World Cup." The Argentine captain leads the tournament's Golden Boot race with eight goals and four assists, and he is the all-time top scorer in World Cup history with 21 goals. With this final, Messi equals Cafu as the only player to compete in three World Cup finals (2014, 2022, and 2026).

Argentina reached the final after defeating England 2-1 in the semifinals on July 15 in Atlanta, with goals from Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez. Spain, for its part, eliminated France 2-0 on July 14 in Dallas, with goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro, and arrives at the decisive match with the best defense of the tournament, having conceded only one goal throughout the championship.

It is also the first matchup between these two teams in a World Cup final in the entire history of the tournament.

The referee appointed by FIFA to officiate the match is the Slovenian Slavko Vincic. MetLife Stadium, with a capacity of 82,500 spectators, will host a clash that the history of world football has been waiting for over six decades.