The Argentina vs Spain World Cup Final kicks off Sunday, closing out the first-ever 48-team tournament with a matchup few saw coming this clearly months ago. Lionel Messi and defending champion Argentina face Lamine Yamal and an unbeaten Spain side at MetLife Stadium, with football’s biggest trophy on the line.
Kickoff is set for Sunday, July 19 at 3 p.m. ET at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, home of the NFL’s Giants and Jets. The English broadcast airs on Fox, with Spanish-language coverage on Telemundo and Peacock. A Super Bowl-style closing ceremony is planned beforehand, with Chris Martin of Coldplay curating an 11-minute halftime-style show featuring Justin Bieber, Madonna, Shakira, BTS, and Burna Boy.
Spain has been the tournament’s most dominant side, winning six straight matches since an opening scoreless draw with Cape Verde. La Roja routed Austria 3-0, shut out Portugal to end Cristiano Ronaldo’s final World Cup, and beat Belgium and France by a combined 4-0 in the knockout rounds, conceding just once all tournament. Rodri and Fabián Ruiz have controlled the tempo of nearly every match, and substitute Mikel Oyarzabal has delivered the winning goal in back-to-back knockout games.
Argentina’s path has been far bumpier. The defending champions needed extra time to beat both Cape Verde and Switzerland, then rallied from a goal down in the final 10 minutes to beat England 2-1 in Wednesday’s semifinal, with Messi setting up both goals.
Spain’s biggest advantage may come down to control. La Roja have not trailed in a single match this tournament, aside from the penalty that briefly put France ahead in the group stage, and their midfield trio has repeatedly starved opponents of possession in dangerous areas. Mbappé himself admitted after France’s semifinal loss that his team failed to execute its game plan against Spain’s press, calling out the difficulty of dealing with Rodri and Ruiz dictating time and space. Argentina, by contrast, has thrived on chaos and late drama, leaning on Messi’s individual brilliance and a front line that has scored 17 goals, the most of any team left in the competition. Whichever side imposes its identity first, control versus improvisation, may determine how Sunday’s final unfolds.
Beyond the trophy, the Argentina vs Spain World Cup Final carries a personal storyline nobody could have scripted. Nearly 20 years ago, a young Lamine Yamal appeared in a promotional photo shoot with Messi after his family won a charity raffle organized by Diario Sport and UNICEF. That photo went viral in 2024 when Yamal’s father shared it. Now the baby from that picture and the legend himself will face off on the sport’s biggest stage for the first time in their careers. Yamal, who turned 19 just one day before Spain’s semifinal win, has scored only once at this World Cup, but his movement and playmaking have repeatedly unlocked defenses, including winning the penalty that opened the scoring against France.
Argentina is chasing history of its own, looking to become the first team to win back-to-back World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. A win would give Messi, at 39, a fourth World Cup title for his country and cement an already unmatched international legacy, one that already includes the tournament’s all-time goalscoring record. Spain, meanwhile, is playing for just its second World Cup title and first since 2010, in what would be the country’s second-ever final appearance. Spain manager Luis de la Fuente credited his team’s ability to read every phase of the match after the France win, praising a squad he called mature beyond its experience in a first World Cup together.
Before Sunday’s final, France and England meet in the third-place match on Saturday, July 18 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. For full team news and live updates as kickoff approaches, Yahoo Sports’ complete final preview breaks down the rivalry’s history, while Al Jazeera’s road-to-the-final coverage has full context on both squads.
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