Spain and Argentina in the World Cup final. The first confrontation in 6 decades

The 2026 World Cup concludes on Sunday with a hard-to-predict match between Spain and Argentina in a European-American final.

This is the twelfth time that the final match between a European team and a team from South America or Latin America has been matched, and it is remarkable that the old continent has won in those matches only 3 times, while the American continent has won 8 times, which indicates the overwhelming American superiority, especially in light of the presence of Brazil and Argentina.

Figures and Statistics

Argentina is making its 18th World Cup appearance, having won the title in 1978, 1986 and 2022, since making its debut in the 1930 edition in Uruguay.

During its history in the tournament, it has played 94 matches, during which it achieved 53 wins and 17 draws against 24 losses, scored 171 goals and conceded 103 goals, and occupies third place in the world rankings.

The Argentine "tango" is seeking to become the first team to retain the World Cup since Brazil in 1958 and 1962, joining the limited list that also includes Italy.

The Argentina captain has the support of the midfield trio of Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister and Leandro Paredes, who have played a prominent defensive and tactical role, even resembling Messi's bodyguards.

On the other hand, the heavy reliance on the captain is the most prominent weakness, as any possible absence could significantly reduce Argentina's chances, despite the fact that the team has distinctive attacking elements such as Juliano Simeone, Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez, in addition to a clear defensive strength.

A lone World Cup match

Despite the participation  of Argentina and Spain in most World Cups throughout history, they met only once, 60 years ago, in the only World Cup won by England, and that match ended with Argentina winning by two goals to one, meaning that no history of World Cup matches allows analysts and statisticians to build perceptions about the course of the match or the chances of either team winning.

But fans of tango dancers are optimistic for several reasons, most notably that Argentina, in the three times it won the title, snatched it from European teams, from the legendary Netherlands after an epic match in 1978 with three goals to one, then from West Germany with three goals to two goals in an exciting match at the World Cup in Mexico in 1986, and the third epic time was also in Qatar 2022, after a draw in the original and extra rounds with three goals for each team, the ball smiled at the end of it for Messi and his teammates, and showed its fair face.

Outside of the World Cup, it is also surprising that they have only met in friendlies, as they have played 13 friendlies, and they have not met in any official Confederations Cup or the tournament that is sometimes held between the European champions and the South American champions. The results of the friendly matches were even, as they drew twice, Spain won 6 matches, and Argentina won 5.

It is also remarkable that their participation in the 1982 World Cup, in particular, was sad for the two teams and the results were identical. For Spain, it was shocking to see the tournament knocked out of the second round despite being the host nation, while Argentina, the defending champions, were knocked out of the same round after bizarre incidents, including the expulsion of the legendary Maradona.

The current World Cup journey

The path of the two teams to the final was very different, as while Spain's arrival in this match was somewhat traditional, albeit more difficult than one match, Argentina's crossing was "with fire and tears", like the one we saw on Messi's face after the famous Round of 16 match against Egypt.

Spain's path has witnessed a single surprise and a unique achievement so far, as the surprise is a goalless draw in the opening match against Cape Verde, while the achievement is that the team's net conceded only one goal, and that was in the round of eight against Belgium, in a difficult match that Spain decided in the last minutes.

Spain Match Results

In the group stage, they drew with Cape Verde without goals, then beat Saudi Arabia by a quadruple, and beat Uruguay with a clean sheet.

In the knockout stages, they beat Austria by a hat-trick, in the round of 16 they beat neighbors Portugal by a goal, then two goals to one against Belgium in the toughest matches of Spain's career, and then eliminated France by two goals to advance to the final.

Argentina Results

In the group stage, they faced no difficulties, winning their three matches against Algeria with a hat-trick, then Austria with two goals, and then Jordan with a hat-trick.

But the difficulties started right from the next round, until it looked like this team would not reach the last eight. In an unexpected surprise, the Cape Verde national team appeared to be a big match for the tango dancers, so the match went to extra time after the original time ended with a draw with a goal each, and Argentina took the lead with a second goal in extra time, and then Cape Verde responded with a draw, before Argentina settled the match with a third goal in the 111th minute.

In the round of eight, Argentina beat Egypt by three goals to two, as Egypt advanced by two goals until the 80th minute, before Argentina took control of itself and responded with a hat-trick in 10 minutes, so that the world watched, in a rare event, the tears of the star Lionel Messi falling, as if he could not believe that he had passed this ordeal.

They then beat Switzerland by three goals to one after extra time, and England by two goals to one in the final minutes, in a repeat of the scenario of the Pharaohs' match.

If Argentina wins today, Messi and Argentina will achieve a rare feat of winning the title in two consecutive editions. Although it is a game without expectations, the Latin team's tough journey may be the gateway through which Spain can cross to the crown.