Messi and Argentina set for World Cup final showdown with Spain

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Lionel Messi will lead defending champions Argentina against Spain in the FIFA World Cup 2026 final as two football giants meet for the biggest prize in the sport.

Argentina reached their second successive World Cup final after a remarkable comeback victory over England, while Spain booked their place with a commanding semi-final win over France.

The final will take place at the New York-New Jersey Stadium on Monday, July 20, with kick-off at 12:30 AM SLST (Sunday night).

         FIFA World Cup 2026 Final          

Spain vs Argentina

Venue: New York-New Jersey Stadium

Kick-off: 12:30 AM SLST

Spain's return to the final

Spain have reached their first World Cup final since lifting the trophy in 2010 after producing one of their strongest performances of the tournament against France.

Luis de la Fuente's side controlled the semi-final with long spells of possession and disciplined defending before securing victory over one of the pre-tournament favourites.

Spain topped Group H despite a slow start, drawing 0-0 with surprise package Cabo Verde in their opening match. They responded with a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia and a 1-0 victory against Uruguay to progress as group winners.

In the knockout stages, Spain defeated Austria 3-0 before surviving two closely contested European battles.

Mikel Merino scored late winners against Portugal and Belgium, including the decisive goal in Spain's 2-1 quarter-final victory over Belgium.

Their semi-final victory over France confirmed Spain's status as one of the tournament's outstanding teams.

Messi chasing another World Cup moment

Argentina's path to the final has been filled with pressure and late twists as they attempt to defend the title they won in Qatar 2022.

The defending champions began the tournament with three straight group-stage victories, inspired by captain Lionel Messi.

Messi has scored eight goals at the 2026 World Cup and 21 goals across his World Cup career, continuing his remarkable international legacy.

The Argentina captain scored a hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Algeria, scored twice against Austria in a 2-0 victory and added another goal in the 3-1 win over Jordan.

But the knockout rounds tested Argentina's character.

They needed extra time to defeat Cabo Verde 3-2 before producing a stunning comeback against Egypt, recovering from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2.

In the quarter-finals, Argentina overcame Switzerland 3-1 after extra time, with Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez scoring the decisive goals.

The semi-final against England produced another memorable turnaround. England took the lead through Anthony Gordon, but Argentina responded through Enzo Fernandez's long-range strike and Lautaro Martinez's late header to secure a 2-1 victory.

Now Messi stands one match away from another World Cup triumph.

Previous World Cup meeting

Spain and Argentina have met only once in World Cup history.

That meeting came in 1966 at Villa Park, where Argentina defeated Spain 2-1 in the group stage. Luis Artime scored both goals for Argentina, while Pirri scored for Spain.

The two nations have also played 13 friendly matches, with Spain winning six, Argentina winning five and two ending in draws.

Their most recent meeting was in 2018, when Spain defeated Argentina 6-1 in Madrid.

Possible starting line-ups

• Spain:

Simon; Porro, Laporte, Cubarsi, Cucurella; Rodri, Fabian; Lamine Yamal, Olmo, Baena; Oyarzabal.

• Argentina:

Martinez; Nahuel, Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Tagliafico; Paredes, Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez, Giuliano Simeone; Messi, Julian Alvarez.