The 2022 World Cup final emphatically broke the mould. An unhinged encounter saw Argentina and France exchange blows in a six-goal ding-dong spearheaded by the star players on either side.<\/p>\n
Will the 2026 showpiece follow that pattern or prove it to just be a freak anomaly? Sports Illustrated\u2019s soccer team has tried to answer this impossible question.<\/p>\n
Spain 3\u20132 Argentina (AET)![\"Spain](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01kxvmwdqt92nb0j0xe6.jpg\" "\\"Spain")
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Spain is preparing for a first World Cup final in 16 years. | Erick W. Rasco\/Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n
Spain enter the final as the consensus best all-around team of the 2026 World Cup, dominating with a clear style and a wealth of not only talented players but cohesive cogs in a well-oiled machine. But major tournament finals are often decided by who manages to dominate the emotional weight of the unparalleled pressure, and Argentina is unrivaled in that context.<\/p>\n
The game will most likely be played according to La Roja\u2019s script, but as the reigning champion has made it crystal clear, miracles are often on the menu. Argentina will once again come from behind to make it a game late, but unlike the rest of La Albiceleste\u2019s recent victims, Spain has the maturity and resilience to get up from the canvas and weather the storm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
La Roja\u2019s harmonious ensemble will eventually prove too much to handle for a flawed Argentina side, outlasting the champion in extra time of a thrilling World Cup final. <\/p>\n
Spain 2\u20131 Argentina<\/p>\n
He couldn\u2019t, could he? Argentina entered the World Cup bereft of hype, yet having relentlessly flirted with elimination throughout the knockout stages, the team is suddenly 90 minutes away. A level of immortality<\/a> achieved by so few athletes beckons for Lionel Messi. His teammates will offer their souls, and Messi\u2019s forays to the right flank are a cheat code yet to be patched.<\/p>\n However, a team that defies logic and reason is set to be denied by the mechanical brilliance of Spain, who has wonderfully eased its way into the tournament and is peaking at the optimal moment. Argentina\u2019s vigor means control will be harder to attain, but they will not retreat once a lead is established.<\/p>\n Spain 2\u20131 Argentina (AET)<\/p>\n O.K., so we didn\u2019t get Mbapp\u00e9 vs. Messi II in the World Cup final, but we have got Yamal vs. Messi<\/a>\u2014and there is no better stage for the passing of the torch from the present to the future. Spain has been unbelievably controlled, Argentina chaotic, determined and inspired all at the same time. Do I expect more of the same? Absolutely. Only this time Lady Luck may run out for Argentina, with an absorbing match going Spain\u2019s way after the full 120-plus minutes on offer.<\/p>\n Spain 2\u20130 Argentina Lionel Messi (right) is Argentina\u2019s orchestrator-in-chief. | Erick W. Rasco\/Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n Remarkably, two teams that failed to beat Cape Verde in 90 minutes are now battling to become world champion\u2014but that is the beauty of the World Cup.<\/p>\n Spain set the standard by brushing aside France in the semifinals, while Argentina has shown tremendous resilience by overcoming several difficult moments on its road to the final.<\/p>\n Argentina thrives in chaos and can produce moments of brilliance when games become unpredictable, but Spain excels at controlling the tempo and draining the life out of its opponents. If you have Messi, you always have a chance\u2014but only if you can get him the ball.<\/p>\n It is difficult to look beyond the European champion adding a second star to its shirts on Sunday.<\/p>\n Spain 1\u20130 Argentina The 2026 World Cup final is only the second competitive clash between Spain and Argentina. | FIFA\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s performance in the semifinals against France<\/a> has forced something of a rethink. Even up against the best of the best, Luis de la Fuente\u2019s side produced the sort of enduring dominance that makes a team pretty hard to ignore at this point in the summer.<\/p>\n Is Argentina a better side than France? The players\u2019 never-say-die attitudes are on another level, that\u2019s for sure, but the chaos that has willed Lionel Scaloni\u2019s side through recent games may be about to run out. Spain is all about control and will seek to ensure Sunday\u2019s final does not descend into the sort of madness that may give Argentina a chance.<\/p>\n Spain 3\u20130 Argentina<\/p>\n Argentina is a team built around Lionel Messi, Spain is just a team. While the defending champion has relied on edge-of-your-seat comebacks throughout the knockouts, La Roja has been in cruise control. If Spain\u2019s imperious midfield start up that passing carousel, it\u2019s hard to see Argentina getting much of a toehold.<\/p>\n This feels like the end of an era for Messi and Co. but for Spain you\u2019d imagine this could run and run. A worthy champion.<\/p>\n Spain 2\u20131 Argentina<\/p>\n The script writes itself. pic.twitter.com\/yoWWvlXUTd<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) July 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n No team has won back-to-back World Cup titles in the 21st century, and it\u2019s hard to picture this Argentina side breaking the trend. For all of Messi\u2019s brilliance and the team\u2019s improbable comebacks, La Albiceleste do not have the quality needed to get past Spain. Scaloni\u2019s side barely defeated Cabo Verde, needed some favorable refereeing decisions to survive Egypt and Switzerland and then Thomas Tuchel\u2019s shocking late-game tactics gifted a win against England.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to imagine there\u2019s any luck left for the defending world champion. La Roja has the better defense, the better midfield and the best right winger in the world<\/a> on its side. They also have the confidence of getting past Portugal and France en route to the final, and will not balk at the task of dispatching one more Goliath before getting their hands on the golden trophy.<\/p>\n Spain 2\u20130 Argentina<\/p>\n There is an inevitability about this Argentina team, who keep producing unexpected sorcery via Messi and its never-say-die attitude. Much like the first half of the semifinal with England<\/a>, La Albiceleste will likely look to disrupt Spain early doors by flying into challenges, hoping it can outlast and outmuscle De la Fuente\u2019s well-oiled machine. <\/p>\n However, this should be a step too far for the defending world champion, who has surely used up all of its lives en route to the final. Spain\u2019s composed demolition of France in the previous round was quite the statement, and no amount of South American fire will knock the 2024 European champion off course. La Roja should clinch a second world title by starving Argentina of possession and picking its moments to go for the kill.<\/p>\n Spain 3\u20130 Argentina<\/p>\n Make no mistake, Argentina had it easy to get to the final compared to Spain and almost messed it up several times. That doggedness to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat commands respect, but then Spain is a step above England in terms of technical quality, composure and winning pedigree.<\/p>\n Spain has conceded only once in seven matches, driven more by an ability to keep the ball away from opponents than any kind of defensive dominance. If Messi barely gets a kick, as England managed to do for an hour of the semifinal before willfully inviting him into the contest<\/a>, it\u2019s difficult to see Argentina laying a glove on Spain. Then it\u2019s all about what Lamine Yamal and Co. can do against a flimsy Argentine defense that has conceded six times in four knockout matches alone.<\/p>\n Spain 1\u20132 Argentina (AET) Facundo Medina is hoping Argentina can overcome Spain. | Hector Vivas\/FIFA\/Getty Images<\/p>\n This Argentine side seems to have an overwhelming ability to simply not lose. Yes, it never makes it easy on itself, but the way it has pulled out victories has made for a near-unparalleled run in World Cup history.<\/p>\n Spain is the better team; I have no doubts about that, but luck just seems to be on La Albiceleste\u2019s side these days. Messi has four goals in five games at MetLife Stadium, where he\u2019s won a Copa Am\u00e9rica semifinal and will have dreams of extinguishing his heartbreak from the 2016 Copa Am\u00e9rica final, a penalty shootout loss to Chile at the venue.<\/p>\n I\u2019m leaning toward the prophecy side<\/a> of things too. If Lamine Yamal is going to mirror Messi\u2019s career, shouldn\u2019t he have to lose his first World Cup final, like Messi did in 2014 against Germany?<\/p>\n Spain 1\u20132 Argentina (AET)<\/p>\n We talk about Spain being a machine this summer<\/a>, so steady, so composed, so consistent to the point that it\u2019s nearly boring to watch them play. Is Spain the best team in the world right now? Yes, unarguably. But if it\u2019s consistency that brings a team across the finish line, then here\u2019s some food for thought. Argentina has been equally consistent this summer. Consistently scrappy. Consistently staring down the exit door before performing a miraculous 180 degree turn.<\/p>\n Perhaps I just crave a bit more drama in Sunday\u2019s final, but you must admit that by the fourth near-death experience for Argentina in this knockout stage, you start to reframe the question. It\u2019s no longer, \u201cWhen will the luck run out?\u201d but rather, \u201cWhat will this team do next?\u201d<\/p>\n There is a fine line between luck and fate, and this team just crossed it<\/p>\n Spain 1\u20130 Argentina Spain booked a spot in its second ever World Cup final. | Erick W. Rasco\/Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n \u201cNothing scares me of what is coming ahead,\u201d Spain\u2019s perennially confident De la Fuente beamed at a bizarre pre-World Cup final press conference without any press. \u201cWell, one thing,\u201d he suddenly thought. \u201cWe came by helicopter and have to return with helicopter. That worries me.\u201d<\/p>\n Even with Messi, that trip through the New York City sky may prove to be De la Fuente\u2019s biggest concern by the end of the World Cup final.<\/p>\n READ THE LATEST WORLD CUP NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FC![\"Lionel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01kxvmyvqnr7eqq2rnk6.jpg\" "\\"Lionel")
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<\/p>\n![\"Spain](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01kxh7kx9342atc4q1n7.jpg\" "\\"Spain")
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