Now the teams are ready. Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal meet for the first time in a match that matters – and both start from the first kick.
While the whole world expected a final that would be between France and seen with our eyes Norway.
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This is how Spain ranks – unchanged from the semi-finals
Spain boss Luis de la Fuente is not making any changes from the team that beat France 2-0 in the semi-finals. This means that young Lamine Yamal will gain confidence from the start in his first World Cup final.
Spain’s starting eleven (4-3-3):
Unai Simón – Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsí, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella – Rodri, Fabián Ruiz, Dani Olmo – Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal, Álex Baena
Spain’s substitutes:
David Raya, Joan García, Marc Pubill, Álex Grimaldo, Eric García, Marcos Llorente, Mikel Merino, Gavi, Martín Zubimendi, Pedri, Ferran Torres, Yeremy Pino, Nico Williams, Víctor Muñoz, Borja Iglesias
This is Argentina’s line-up – three changes
Argentina make three changes from the team that won 2-1 over England in the semi-finals. Rodrigo De Paul, Nico González and Gonzalo Montiel replace Giuliano Simeone, Leandro Paredes and Nahuel Molina.
Argentina’s starting eleven (4-3-3):
Emiliano Martínez – Nicolás Tagliafico, Gonzalo Montiel, Lisandro Martínez, Cristian Romero – Rodrigo De Paul, Nico González, Alexis Mac Allister – Enzo Fernández, Julián Álvarez, Lionel Messi
Argentina’s substitutes:
Juan Musso, Gerónimo Rulli, Marcos Senesi, Nicolás Otamendi, Facundo Medina, Nahuel Molina, Leandro Paredes, Valentín Barco, Giovani Lo Celso, Exequiel Palacios, Thiago Almada, Giuliano Simeone, Nico Paz, José Manuel López, Lautaro Martínez
How to watch the final
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Kick-off | Sunday 19 July at 21:00 CET (20:00 BST) |
| TV | BBC One and ITV1 (UK) |
| Streaming | BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport, ITVX |
Historical figures and facts before the final
- This is the first time that the reigning champions of the Copa América have faced the reigning European champions in a World Cup final.
- Argentina is the sixth reigning champion team to reach a World Cup final. The first two won (Italy in 1938 and Brazil in 1962), but the last three lost (Argentina in 1990, Brazil in 1998 and France in 2022).
- For the first time , the teams ranked 1st (Argentina) and 2nd (Spain) in the FIFA World Rankings will meet in a World Cup.
- Argentina is playing its seventh World Cup final – only Germany has played more (8).
- Lionel Messi becomes the second player in history to play in three World Cup finals (2014, 2022, 2026), along with Brazil’s Cafu (1994, 1998, 2002).
- At 39 years and 25 days, Messi could become the oldest outfield player to ever play in a World Cup final.
- Argentina has won the World Cup three times (1978, 1986, 2022) and been a losing finalist three times (1930, 1990, 2014).
- Argentina have won all seven matches at the 2026 World Cup and could become the first team since Brazil in 2002 (7 out of 7) to have a 100 percent win percentage in a single championship.
- Spain have kept a clean sheet in six games – more than any other team in a single World Cup. They are also unbeaten in 37 games since their 1-0 loss to Colombia in March 2024.
- If Spain avoid defeat in the final, they will set a new European record for the longest unbeaten streak ever.
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