Spain and Argentina will face off this Sunday at the MetLife Stadium in the final of the , with a history that couldn't be more balanced: 14 matches, six wins for each team, and two draws, with a minimal goal difference of 19 to 18 in favor of the Spaniards.
The matchup will be only the second World Cup encounter between both teams. The only previous match in a World Cup dates back to the group stage of England 1966, when the Albiceleste won 2-1 with two goals from Luis Artime.
Since then, all the encounters have been friendly matches. The most recent one, in March 2018 at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid, resulted in one of the largest victories for Spain over Argentina: a resounding 6-1, with Isco scoring a hat trick. Messi was not present for that match due to injury.
Beyond the history, the final has a special protagonist: Lionel Messi, 39 years old, who by playing in this match will equal the Brazilian Cafú as the only footballers in history to have played in three World Cup finals.
The Argentine captain was the runner-up in Brazil 2014 when he lost to Germany in extra time, and lifted the Cup in Qatar 2022 after defeating France in a historic penalty shootout.
There is also an additional distinction: if Messi starts, he would be the first player in history to begin as a starter in three World Cup finals, since Cafu was a substitute in the 1994 final against Italy.
Cafú played in the finals of the United States in 1994, France in 1998, and Korea-Japan in 2002, winning the first and the last. Four other players are part of this exclusive group of appearances in three finals: Pelé, Ronaldo Nazário, Pierre Littbarski, and Lothar Matthäus, although none of them played in all three on the field.
In this World Cup, Messi also leads the Golden Boot with eight goals and four assists, accumulating 21 total goals in his World Cup history, making him the all-time top scorer in World Cup history.
Argentina reached the final after a comeback against England in the semifinals. Anthony Gordon put the English team ahead, but Enzo Fernández equalized with a powerful shot from outside the box in the 85th minute, and Lautaro Martínez, who had come on as a substitute, secured the victory with a header in the 90+2 minute following a precise cross from Messi.
Spain, for its part, defeated France 2-0 with goals from Mikel Oyarzabal from a penalty kick and Pedro Porro, returning to a World Cup final for the first time since South Africa 2010.
If Argentina wins, it would be the first team since Brazil in 1962 to conquer two consecutive World Cups and would earn its fourth star. With the history completely tied and a historic achievement within Messi's reach, the final of the 2026 World Cup brings together two of the most captivating stories of the event in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
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