Messi and Yamal headline Spain-Argentina World Cup final
Argentina chase back-to-back World Cups against Spain, while France and England are left with the bronze final in Miami.
By Frankie Delgado · News Reporter
3 min read
Lionel Messi will walk into another World Cup final on Sunday, and this one comes with a dazzling twist: Argentina against Spain, Messi against Lamine Yamal, and the world’s No. 1 team against No. 2.
NBC News reported that defending champion Argentina will face European champion Spain at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, with both sides chasing a slice of history.
Argentina are aiming for a fourth World Cup title and would become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win consecutive tournaments. Spain are going for their second World Cup, 16 years after winning the 2010 title.
The matchup also lands in the record books before kickoff. According to NBC News, it is the first World Cup game between the top two teams in the FIFA rankings since the rankings began in 1992. It is also the first final pairing the reigning European champion with the reigning world and South American champion, and the first final between two Spanish-speaking nations since 1930.
Attack meets defense
The numbers set up a clean clash of styles. Argentina have scored a tournament-best 19 goals, while Spain have allowed just one, NBC News reported.
Messi, 39, arrives in form. NBC News reported that he had two assists in Argentina’s semifinal win over England and enters the final level with Kylian Mbappé for the tournament lead on eight goals.
Messi also has four assists, one fewer than France’s Michael Olise. His 21 career World Cup goals put him one ahead of Mbappé on the all-time list, according to NBC News.
A win would give Messi a second World Cup, something Diego Maradona did not achieve. Maradona won in 1986 and finished runner-up in 1990.
Messi is also set to join Brazil’s Cafu as the only players to appear in three World Cup finals. NBC News noted that Pelé, a three-time champion, missed the 1962 final through injury.
Spain’s midfield machine
Spain’s route to the final included a semifinal win over France built around midfield control, with Rodri and Fabián Ruiz central to the performance, according to NBC News.
Rodri, the Manchester City midfielder, could become the 11th player to win the World Cup, Champions League and Ballon d’Or. Ruiz is set for his 50th Spain cap after winning back-to-back Champions League titles with Paris Saint-Germain, NBC News reported.
Ruiz has not been on the losing side in his first 49 Spain appearances, according to the report.
Spain enter as the favorite with most bookmakers and are unbeaten in 37 matches across all competitions, with 28 wins and nine draws. NBC News reported that their last defeat was a 1-0 loss to Colombia in March 2024.
Argentina’s recent record is also fierce. Since losing to Saudi Arabia in their opening game at the 2022 World Cup, they are unbeaten in 13 World Cup matches, with 11 wins and two draws.
The final also comes with a sweet photo-book footnote. Messi and Yamal were pictured together for a 2007 UNICEF charity calendar when Messi was a young Barcelona player and Yamal was six months old, according to NBC News.
Bronze final in Miami
Before the title game, France and England meet in Miami in the bronze final after semifinal defeats ended their hopes of playing for the trophy.
NBC News reported that both teams are expected to rotate their lineups after deep runs in the expanded 48-team tournament.
The match will be Didier Deschamps’ last as France coach, ending a 14-year spell that included the 2018 World Cup title, a runner-up finish four years later and defeat in the Euro 2016 final.
England manager Thomas Tuchel made his mood clear, saying: “None of these players, none of the French players, want to play this match. They want to play in the final. We gave everything to be in the final.”
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.