The World Cup final is set, with Messi and Argentina facing Yamal and Spain for the title on Sunday

Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates after teammate Lautaro Martinez scored their side's second goal during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between England and Argentina in Atlanta, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.

The best offence. The best defence.

The World Cup final is set, and fittingly, a clash of styles awaits. Lionel Messi — the most prolific goalscorer in the tournament’s history — and defending champion Argentina will take on Spain’s defensive juggernaut on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, to decide the title.

Spain beat France in one semifinal on Tuesday; Argentina, the comeback kings of this tournament, rallied to beat England 2-1 in the other semifinal on Wednesday.

Argentina is seeking its fourth title and looking to become the first back-to-back World Cup champions since Brazil pulled off the feat in 1958 and 1962. Spain is looking for its second title, after winning in 2010.

Argentina leads the tournament in goals scored — 19.

Spain leads the tournament in fewest goals allowed — one.

Something will have to give on Sunday, when the biggest World Cup ever — a 48-team, 104-match extravaganza spread out over the U.S., Canada and Mexico — comes to an end.

It’s not Finalissima. It’s going to be better.

South American champion Argentina and European champion Spain were supposed to meet in Doha, Qatar, back in late March in Finalissima, a showdown between the teams that are led by Messi and Lamine Yamal in a prequel of the World Cup.

That game never happened. Security became an issue because of unrest in the Middle East, with Iran intensifying its attacks on neighboring countries at that time in retaliation to the aerial attacks by United States and Israel in a war that is still ongoing. The game was called off.

So, instead of playing at Lusail Stadium, the site of the epic 2022 World Cup final where Messi and Argentina won on penalty kicks over France and Kylian Mbappé, they’ll play just outside of New York in soccer’s biggest game.

It’ll be a showdown of soccer’s present versus soccer’s future, not to mention a showdown of the teams that held the top two spots in FIFA’s world rankings entering the World Cup — Argentina at No. 1, Spain at No. 2.

There was a famous photo taken in 2007 when Messi was part of a UNICEF program and posed with a baby.

Yamal was that baby. Like Messi (who now plays for Inter Miami), Yamal would become a left-footed star for Spanish club Barcelona. It is the most improbable of stories: from a photo together two decades ago, the two stars are set to be together again to end this year’s World Cup.

A picture-perfect finish.

How Spain got here

— Record: Six wins, one draw, zero losses.

— Goals for: 13.

— Goals against: 1.

— Group stage: drew with Cape Verde 0-0, beat Saudi Arabia 4-0, beat Uruguay 1-0.

— Knockout stage: beat Austria 3-0, beat Portugal 1-0, beat Belgium 2-1, beat France 2-0.

How Argentina got here

Record: Seven wins, zero draws, zero losses.

Goals for: 19.

Goals against: 7.

Group stage: beat Algeria 3-0, beat Austria 2-0, beat Jordan 3-1.

Knockout stage: beat Cape Verde 3-2, beat Egypt 3-2, beat Switzerland 3-1, beat England 2-1.

Streaking

Both teams enter the final with impressive unbeaten streaks.

— Spain is carrying a 37-match unbeaten streak across all competitions and friendlies into the final, having won 28 of those matches with nine draws in that span. Its last loss was 1-0 to Colombia in March 2024.

— Argentina is unbeaten in its last 13 World Cup matches, with 11 victories and two draws since falling to Saudi Arabia to open group play at the 2022 tournament.

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press