After more than 100 matches and several weeks of non-stop action, the most grandiose World Cup in history has reached the final. And what a matchup it is. Reigning champion Argentina takes on European kingpin Spain for the title. Get ready for Sunday's game with our comprehensive preview.
The lowdown 📝
When: Sunday, July 19 (3 p.m. ET)
Where: New York/New Jersey Stadium
Referee: Slavko Vincic (Slovenia)
VAR: Bastian Dankert (Germany)
How to watch 📺
| Country | Network |
|---|---|
| U.S. 🇺🇸 | FOX / FS1 / Telemundo / Fubo / Peacock |
| Canada 🇨🇦 | TSN / CTV / Crave / RDS |
Betting odds 🤑
| Spain | Draw (Extra Time) | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| +125 | +210 | +260 |
Key questions❓
Will Spain stifle Messi?
This is always the primary concern for any team that takes on Argentina. Lionel Messi continues to defy all logic at 39 years old, delivering moments of brilliance - some obvious, others more subtle - in every match this summer as the reigning world champion has reached the final through force of will.
Planning to subdue Messi, and then actually accomplishing the feat, are two very different things. Among his many superlative talents, the diminutive icon is also the smartest player the sport has ever seen, and knows how to make the necessary positional adjustments on the fly to react to whatever is happening on the pitch. When England shifted to a back-five in the semifinals, for example, he exploited the space created by Anthony Gordon's substitution, and subsequently took over the game to inspire Argentina's latest dramatic comeback.
Spain, by far the best defense in the tournament with just one goal conceded thus far, will be his toughest test yet at this World Cup. The Spaniards, like they did in their smothering semifinal win over France, will once again try to use ball possession as the best form of defense against an Argentina side that has registered a tournament-leading 19 goals going into the title match.
Is this Yamal's moment?
Lamine Yamal arrived at the World Cup nursing a hamstring injury that ended his club season prematurely and threatened to rule him out of Spain's campaign entirely. Luckily for everyone - except Spain's opponents, of course - the teenage sensation recovered just in time, and he's slowly been growing into the competition with each passing match. The semifinal win over France, in which he won Spain's penalty with an opportunistic sneak attack on Lucas Digne, was the 19-year-old's best performance of the tournament so far.
He now has a golden opportunity to author the kind of signature outing that will be remembered forever if he can steal the spotlight from Messi.
The dazzling winger will come up against veteran Argentine left-back Nicolas Tagliafico, but expect Lionel Scaloni to throw some combination of midfielders at Yamal as well to try and ensure he can't get isolated in dangerous areas.
Can Argentina break the counter-press?
Spain boasts the best collection of pure technicians in this tournament - especially in midfield - and that enchanting skill makes it easy to overlook the team's relentless aggression, which is equally as important to Spain's success (if not more so). Spain's counter-press is absolutely suffocating no matter the state of the match, a lesson France learned in the semifinals as Les Bleus' previously devastating attack was totally nullified by Rodri and Co.
How Argentina handles that high press will go a long way toward deciding who ends up holding the trophy on Sunday. Argentina, unlike France, will be able to pack the middle of the pitch with three midfielders to provide quick outlets and passing options when it wins the ball back, and Messi will also drop deep to provide the ultimate press-resistant player. If Argentina can crowd the middle, win possession back, and break the initial Spain press, there will be open space to exploit and scoring opportunities to be had.
Another key factor to consider here: how lenient will referee Slavko Vincic be? If Spain's press does get broken, La Roja will use "professional" fouls when necessary to halt potential Argentine counterattacks. You can only do that so many times before the cards start flying, however. Argentina, meanwhile, will use all of its big-game nous to disrupt Spain's passing flow and break up the rhythm of the match. Vincic will need to keep a handle on all of it.
Projected XIs 👀
Spain (4-2-3-1): Unai Simon; Pedro Porro, Aymeric Laporte, Pau Cubarsi, Marc Cucurella; Rodri, Fabian Ruiz; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Alex Baena; Mikel Oyarzabal
Argentina (4-4-2): Emiliano Martinez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Tagliafico; Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez, Giuliano Simeone; Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez
Kit matchup 👕
(Source: FIFA)
Path to the final 🏟
By the numbers 🔢
Tournament pedigree 🏆
Spain: Champion (2010)
Argentina: Champion (1978, 1986, 2022)
Both nations have lifted the trophy before.
With a win Sunday, Argentina would move level with Germany and Italy for the second-most titles in men's World Cup history, and close to within one of all-time leader - and eternal rival - Brazil. The Albiceleste would also become the first team since the Selecao in 1962 to retain the World Cup trophy.
Interesting facts 🧐
1 - Incredibly, perennial powers Spain and Argentina have met just once before at the World Cup; that came all the way back in 1966. Luis Artime scored twice as the Albiceleste claimed a 2-1 group-stage victory.
5 - Spain has reached six major finals in its history between the World Cup and European Championship, and won five of them. La Roja's lone defeat in those matches came at Euro 1984 against France. The Spaniards are one-for-one in World Cup finals, lifting the trophy in their lone appearance in 2010.
7 - Argentina, aided by the expanded format for this summer's event, is only the second team to win seven matches at a single World Cup, joining 2002 champion Brazil. A victory on Sunday would make the Albiceleste only the fifth side to win 100% of its matches at a single World Cup.
8 - Argentina, the comeback king, has scored eight goals between the 76th and 90th minutes of matches at this summer's tournament. Only one other team - the Netherlands in 1998 - has scored multiple match-winning goals in the 90th minute at the same World Cup.
13 - Alexis Mac Allister has played the most World Cup matches in history without losing. In his 13 tournament appearances thus far, Argentina has won 11 times, with the other two matches technically being recorded as draws (though Argentina won both of those on penalties).
20 - Only two players have completed 20 or more dribbles at this summer's tournament: Messi (25) and Yamal (22). The lore of that infamous UNICEF photo shoot continues to grow.
Prediction 🔮
Spain 2, Argentina 1
Messi almost certainly has more magic up his sleeve for Sunday's final, but Spain might just be the only team in the tournament - and the world - that can weather his brilliance.
Where other sides have crumbled under the weight of Messi's greatness and Argentina's late-game heroics, Spain's possession-based system is uniquely built to retain control and not be consumed by the chaos that Argentina thrives on.
Expect Yamal to have his best match of the tournament in what will eventually be viewed as the official passing of the proverbial baton.
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