Spain and Argentina meet in the 2026 World Cup Final on Sunday, July 19, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, with kickoff set for 3 p.m. ET. Spain is favored to lift the trophy, returning a 1.61x payout on PrizePicks, while the underdog Argentina has a 2.22x payout.
Both nations have a rich football history and, including this edition, have appeared in a combined 36 World Cup tournaments. It begs the question, how have Spain and Argentina fared when they’ve faced off at the World Cup — or is this their first time doing so?
We’re going to answer that question, as well as break down how both nations have fared when they’ve reached a World Cup Final. We'll also break down how Spain and Argentina have performed in their past matchups over the last 20 years.
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Have Spain and Argentina Met Before in the World Cup?
Spain and Argentina have, in fact, met at the World Cup once before. Their only clash took place back in the 1966 World Cup group stage, where Argentina claimed a 2-1 victory to open Group 2 play.
The match was scoreless at halftime, despite Argentina nearly scoring twice in the opening 10 minutes. After the intermission, they took the lead in the 65th minute behind Luis Artime’s opener.
Spain would level the match just six minutes later behind a goal from midfielder Pirri, who was able to get onto the end of a terrific cross and outmuscle the goalkeeper. But Artime would become the hero, scoring again in the 79th minute after an outstanding first touch and a powerful strike.
The victory proved vital for Argentina. They finished Group 2 play with 5 points, putting them level with West Germany. Argentina lost the tiebreaker on goal differential, however, and finished second in the group.
For Spain, the defeat was followed by a pair of draws. They finished third in the group with just 2 points and were unable to advance to the knockout stage.
How Have Spain Fared in World Cup Finals?
That 1966 World Cup was just Spain’s fourth appearance at the tournament and their second consecutive group-stage exit. It'd also be their last appearance until 1978, ironically held in Argentina, after failing to qualify for the 1970 and 1974 tournaments.
Spain reached the semifinals in 1950, their second appearance at the tournament, but failed to see that stage again until 2010. That campaign witnessed them claim victory in South Africa behind a stout defense anchored by GK Iker Casillas, as they conceded just 2 goals in seven matches.
La Roja would lift their first and only World Cup trophy after a 1-0 win over the Netherlands in extra time. The match appeared destined for a penalty shootout with four minutes remaining, but CM Andrés Iniesta had other ideas as he sent Spanish fans into a frenzy with his late strike.
The match marks Spain’s only World Cup Final appearance in their history before this tournament. There are no players from that 2010 side who are still in the national team 16 years later, but this squad is just as talented as the one that claimed victory back then.
How Have Argentina Fared in World Cup Finals?
Argentina has a far richer history here than Spain. This will be La Albiceleste’s seventh appearance in a World Cup Final. However, unlike Spain, they've tasted defeat in the last match as well.
The first instance came in the very first World Cup, as they fell 4-2 to Uruguay in 1930. Uruguay struck early before Argentina took a 2-1 lead into the break. A trio of second-half strikes by Uruguay saw them claim victory.
Argentina would then have a long stretch of failure, as they didn’t participate in the 1938, 1950, or 1954 tournaments due to various off-pitch reasons. When they did resume playing, it'd take until 1978 for them to go on another run.
They did so as the host nation, claiming a 3-1 victory over the Netherlands after extra time. Argentina got a pair of goals in the additional time, including the winner from Mario Kempes, who won the tournament’s Golden Boot.
This began a run of three finals in four tournaments for Argentina. They'd claim victory again in Mexico with a thrilling 3-2 win over West Germany in the 1986 World Cup Final, with an 84th-minute goal giving them the lead just three minutes after the West Germans mounted a furious comeback to level the match.
The 1990 World Cup nearly saw them repeat as champions. They reached the final despite scoring just 5 goals in six matches. However, West Germany exacted revenge in Rome, with an 85th-minute penalty for Andreas Brehme ending a defensive stalemate.
The match marks the first and only time two nations have rematched in consecutive finals.
Germany was again a thorn in Argentina’s side just 12 years ago, although the 2014 final saw them play as a unified nation. Again Argentina would fail to score, with Mario Götze’s goal in the 113th minute giving Die Mannschaft the win.
Argentina now comes into this year as defending champions. Their thrilling win over France via penalties capped a 3-3 match that saw Kylian Mbappé score twice in two minutes to force extra time.
Each nation got a goal in extra time, including a French penalty to level in the 118th minute, but Lionel Messi and Argentina survived in what is considered by many to be the greatest World Cup Final of all time.
Led by Messi, the bulk of that same Argentine squad will participate in this year’s final. The diminutive forward has defied Father Time and now has his nation one win away from pulling level with Germany and Italy for the second-most trophies.
Spain vs. Argentina Head-to-Head Results This Century
These two nations have met just three times ever. The aforementioned World Cup fixture was the only one before the turn of the century.
Their last two meetings came via friendlies. The first was right after Spain’s World Cup 2010 win, as Argentina hosted them that following September. Messi opened the scoring after just 10 minutes, as Argentina led 3-0 at halftime before claiming a 4-1 victory.
The latest matchup was in 2018, in one of the final warm-up matches for both nations ahead of the 2018 World Cup. Spain loved what they saw, as they trounced Argentina 6-1 thanks to an Isco hat trick.
Messi did not participate in that match, but a young Lautaro Martínez came off the bench for Argentina in the second half.
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Make Your Spain vs. Argentina Prediction for the World Cup Final on PrizePicks
Spain and Argentina don’t have much history against one another, but Sunday’s World Cup Final could go down as a historic match that won’t be soon forgotten. Given how strong these nations are, it may also be a matchup we'll see more of in the future.
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