The final match at the FIFA World Cup 2026 will see European Champions Spain take on reigning World Cup champion Argentina, who are looking to become the first back-to-back winners since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
It’s the first time in World Cup history that the final will feature a clash between the reigning Euro and Copa America winners.
Watch Spain vs. Argentina LIVE on Sunday with coverage starting at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT and kickoff scheduled for 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT on TSN1/4/5, the TSN App, and TSN.ca.
The legend of Lionel Messi has only grown through this World Cup, as the 39-year-old has led Argentina’s dramatic path through the knockout stage, culminating in Wednesday’s comeback semifinal win over England.
Argentina trailed 1-0 in the 84th minute of Wednesday’s match, and the Three Lions appeared to be on the cusp on reaching their first World Cup Final since 1966. However, Messi led a relentless Argentina attack and would produce assists on both the tying goal from Enzo Fernandez in the 85th minute, and the winning header from Lautaro Martinez in the second minute of stoppage time to send La Albiceleste to the final.
“No words, no words. A joy for our country, for our people. The other day, I said this group never stops surprising me,” said Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni after the win. “And I’ll tell you the truth, we’re going to try to win, we’re going to leave everything out there, but after this it’s very difficult to get people to understand what these players are showing. It’s incredible. We are unique, truly, and it’s not arrogance, it’s from the heart.”
Messi is tied atop the Golden Boot race with France’s Kylian Mbappe, as each superstar has scored eight goals in the tournament. As it stands, the Argentine holds the tiebreaker with four assists to Mbappe’s three.
The Argentina attack will go up against a Spanish defence that has conceded just one goal in seven matches, to Belgium in the quarter-final, and held the vaunted French attack off the scoresheet in a dominant 2-0 semifinal win on Tuesday.
Mikel Oyarzabal leads Spain with five goals at the World Cup, including the winner from the penalty spot against France. Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal has one goal in his first World Cup, but made a major impact in the semifinal, drawing the contact from Lucas Digne that led to Oyarzabal’s opening marker.
Spain’s form has been steadily improving following its opening 0-0 draw against Cabo Verde and culminated in a near-perfect performance against France.
“We started almost four years ago with an idea, and we’ve been faithful to that idea and it’s brought us here. Today we faced one of the best national teams in the world, but in front of them they had the best team in the world. That is the difference. These players deserve everything. Day after day, they’ve showed their commitment, solidarity, generosity, talent. They make the difficult look easy,” said Spain coach Luis de la Fuente.
On Sunday, La Roja will try to make it two for two in World Cup Finals after emerging victorious in their only other final in 2010.
Spain and Argentina have only met once before at the World Cup, with Argentina coming out with a 2-1 win in 1966.
