Spain and Argentina Collide in Historic World Cup Final Showdown

(WS News) – The 2026 FIFA World Cup reaches its climax on Sunday as Spain and defending champion Argentina meet at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, with kickoff set for 3pm ET, in what has been billed as a clash between the tournament’s two most complete sides.

Spain reached the final on the back of a commanding 2-0 semifinal win over France, while Argentina survived a scare against England, scoring twice late to escape with a 2-1 victory. It is only the second time the two nations have met at a World Cup, their first meeting coming in the 1966 group stage, which Argentina won 2-1. Since the turn of the century, Spain have had the upper hand, winning three of four meetings.

Lionel Messi, chasing a second consecutive World Cup title with Argentina, headlines a matchup widely framed as a passing of the torch to Spain’s 19-year-old sensation Lamine Yamal. A win would give Argentina its first repeat title since Brazil in 1962, while Spain would be chasing its first championship since 2010.

Simulations run by Opta’s supercomputer across 25,000 scenarios made Spain the favourite, projecting them as champions in 59.6 percent of outcomes compared to 40.4 percent for Argentina. Looking strictly at 90 minutes of play, the model gave Spain a 45 percent chance of victory, Argentina 26 percent, with the remaining 29 percent of simulations ending level and heading to extra time.

The final caps a 48-team tournament, the first World Cup to expand to that format, hosted jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico. England took third place on Saturday after a wild 6-4 win over France, a game in which Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick and Kylian Mbappé’s brace made him the tournament’s all-time leading scorer.