The 2026 FIFA World Cup is in last days, and the main event for the entire month-plus of action is about to begin. The final between Spain and Argentina is set to take place on Sunday afternoon, with hundreds of millions of eyeballs glued to TV screens as we crown another champion of the world.
There’s no shortage of drama or emotion when it comes to Spain and Argentina. We have what is likely to be Lionel Messi’s last World Cup, while Spain is looking to anoint Lamine Yamal as the next Messi for both Barcelona, and the national team. Let’s dive into what we think will happen in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.
Mark Schofield: The 2026 FIFA World Cup has been dominated by superstars. Erling Haaland became a household name here in the United States thanks to a captivating blend of personality and skill. Kylian Mbappé continued his run at the record books with a dazzling string of performances. Jude Bellingham vaulted England deep into the knockout rounds with a legendary stretch of play. Lionel Messi is, well, Lionel Messi.
But through it all, even though Spain has a few premier talents on their roster, what makes La Roja dangerous is they look like the best team.
This is a side that yes, has Lamine Yamal but it is Mikel Oyarzabal leading the way in the goal chase, as the Real Sociedad forward who leads Spain in goals. Their buildup play has been masterful — a staple of Spanish teams year-after-year — but they have found the quality in the final third that was perhaps most evident on their second goal against France, this beauty off the foot of Pedro Porro following a lovely touch from Dani Olmo:
This is also a side that still has yet to concede a goal at the World Cup.
Now I know, Messi and Argentina look inevitable. The comeback against Egypt. The comeback against England. It feels like they are marching to yet another title, even if they have yet to play a perfect 90 minutes. If they do against Spain, they will be tough to beat.
But … consider Luis de la Fuente. The Spanish manager has just two losses during his tenure in charge. One was a loss to Portugal, on penalties, in the UEFA Nations League.
The other was a loss to Colombia in a friendly.
James Dator: There’s always a degree of emotion that comes into play when picking a game like this, but I have to put aside the romanticism of Argentina and just focus on what makes logical sense — which is the reality that Spain has been playing this tournament on an entirely other level.
If you went back in time to mid-June and said “Lamine Yamal won’t be that impactful in the World Cup” the consensus would widely be that Spain would get eliminated in either the Round of 16 or the quarter-finals. Instead, we’ve witnessed La Roja play a peerless game that has befuddled everyone they’ve played against thus far.
Look no further than what happened to France in the semi-finals. That was a team dripping with unbelievable scoring talent, and they were befuddled against the Spanish defense. I don’t buy that this was some mammoth collapse by France, as much as Spain had built an impenetrable wall that never lost its shape. Some of the best footballers in the world tried everything to generate chances, yet only managed to get four shots on target. If that’s all you can get with Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembélé, well, I don’t like the chances of anyone else.
Even with Lamal not making an impact, the ever-present counterattack threat of Lamal going off freezes teams from taking risks. This plays directly into Spain’s strategy, and they will choke you out with the long game. It gives me pause whether Argentina can push the pace through their wing play and get the soft opportunities in the box that they were given late in the game against England. This is an entirely different beast to face, and I think Spain can run them out of the park.
