World Cup Preview: Spain VS Argentina - prediction, team news, lineups

[(Spain) Strength]:
1. Mikel Oyarzabal scored a penalty in the last match. Statistics show that Mikel Oyarzabal has scored 14 goals for the Spanish national team in the 2025-26 season, setting a historical record: no Spanish player has ever scored so many goals for the national team in a single season. He surpassed David Villa's record of 13 goals set in the 2008-09 season. In this World Cup, he has scored 5 goals in 7 appearances.
2. Statistics show that at 19 years and 1 day old, Lamine Yamal is the third youngest player to win a penalty in a World Cup match since 1966, behind only Michael Owen (18 years, 198 days) against Argentina in 1998 and Dmitri Sychev (18 years, 222 days) against Tunisia in 2002. In the last match, Lamine Yamal started, and in all major tournaments (UEFA EURO + World Cup) where he has started, Spain have won all 12 matches.
3. Pedro Porro scored a goal in the last match. Both of his only two goals for the Spanish national team have come in World Cup knockout stages, while he has scored 0 goals in other competitions. No defender has scored more goals than him in this World Cup. FIFA officially announced that Spanish right-back Pedro Porro was named Man of the Match.
4. Fabian Ruiz started for Spain in the last match and delivered a very solid performance. He has played 49 matches for La Furia Roja, with the team remaining unbeaten (34 wins, 15 draws). He also has the potential to achieve the feat of winning both the UEFA Champions League and the World Cup in the same year.
5. In the last World Cup semi-final, Spain defeated France 2-0 to advance to the final. In their last eight appearances in major tournament (World Cup and UEFA EURO) semi-finals, Spain have advanced seven times. Their only semi-final elimination was a penalty shootout loss to Italy at Euro 2020.
6. Statistics show that Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente has become the first head coach to remain unbeaten (13 wins, 1 draw) in his first 14 matches leading a European national team in major tournaments (UEFA EURO and World Cup). In the nearly 100-year history of the World Cup, there are two unbroken century-old iron laws: no foreign head coach has ever led a team to the title, and no head coach over 60 years old has ever led a team to the title. Luis de la Fuente, aged 65, is Spanish and aims to challenge this 60-year curse.
7. In this World Cup, Spain have kept clean sheets in 6 matches, becoming the first team in tournament history to achieve this. Spain have never trailed in this World Cup, making them the first team to reach the final without ever trailing in a single edition since Argentina in 2014. According to statistics, Spain have won all 8 of their last knockout matches in major international tournaments (World Cup & UEFA EURO), becoming the first European team in tournament history to achieve an eight-match winning streak at this stage.
8. FIFA officially announced that the match between Spain and France set a decade-high World Cup viewership record in Spain. FIFA stated that millions of Spanish viewers watched Spain defeat France to advance to their first men's World Cup final since 2010. The thrilling semi-final averaged 13.2 million cumulative viewers across RTVE channels, with a market share of 73.8%.
 

[(Spain) Neutral]:
1. This match also marks the first direct confrontation between two generations of Barcelona's No. 10s: 19-year-old Lamine Yamal versus 39-year-old Lionel Messi. Shortly after Lamine Yamal was born, his parents were fortunate enough to take him to a Barcelona club event, where the then-emerging Lionel Messi interacted with the young Lamine Yamal, holding him and giving him a bath. The 19-year-old Lamine Yamal has made 151 appearances for Barcelona, scoring 49 goals and providing 47 assists, winning 3 La Liga titles and 1 Copa del Rey. The 39-year-old Lionel Messi played for Barcelona for 21 years, making 778 appearances, scoring 672 goals and providing 305 assists, winning 10 La Liga titles, 4 Champions League titles, 7 Copa del Rey titles, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 3 Club World Cups, and 3 UEFA Super Cups, and winning the Ballon d'Or six times in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2019.
2. Spain have won the World Cup once in their history, while Argentina have triumphed three times. Spain's last World Cup title came in 2010, when they defeated Netherlands in the final to win their first World Cup. Argentina arrive at this World Cup as the defending champions, having won their 3rd World Cup title in the previous edition by defeating France in a penalty shootout in the final.
3. FIFA announced the referee appointment for the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina. Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic will officiate, leading a Slovenian refereeing team. Slavko Vincic has previously officiated 5 matches involving Spain (Spain: 3 wins, 2 draws) and 1 match involving Argentina (Argentina lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in the 2022 Qatar World Cup).
4. ESPN reports that the World Cup final will feature a clash between the top two teams in the FIFA rankings for the first time. Argentina (ranked 1st) and Spain (ranked 2nd) will meet in the men's World Cup final, a first since FIFA introduced the rankings in 1992. This will also be the first-ever meeting between the European champions (UEFA EURO winners) and the South American champions (Copa America winners) in a World Cup final.
 

[(Argentina) Strength]:
1. The 39-year-old Lionel Messi provided two assists in the last match, setting up Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez for goals, helping Argentina come from behind to defeat England! In this World Cup, Lionel Messi has contributed 8 goals and 4 assists in 7 matches, with assists in 3 consecutive knockout matches. Additionally, Lionel Messi broke Miroslav Klose's World Cup goal record in this tournament and currently leads the World Cup scoring chart with 21 goals.
2. Lionel Messi completed 9 dribbles in the last match. According to statistics, the 39-year-old Lionel Messi has completed 24 dribbles, created 25 chances, and created 8 big chances in this World Cup, all three statistics being the highest among participating players. In his career, Lionel Messi has played 1163 matches, scoring 919 goals and providing 418 assists, with a total of 1337 goal involvements. He also holds the records for the World Cup's all-time top scorer and top assist provider. Lionel Messi has been involved in goals for 13 consecutive matches for club and country, just one match shy of his career record. In 2011, Lionel Messi was involved in goals for 14 consecutive matches for club and country.
3. Lionel Scaloni has become the second head coach in history to lead Argentina to two World Cup finals, following Carlos Bilardo in 1986 and 1990.
4. According to statistics, Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has won all seven finals he has participated in during his professional career.
5. In the last World Cup semi-final, Argentina eliminated England, advancing to the final for the second consecutive edition. In World Cup history, Argentina have tied with Germany for the most eliminations of England, with 3. Argentina are also the 6th defending champions to reach the World Cup final.
6. This is Argentina's 7th appearance in a World Cup final. In their previous 6 appearances, they have won 3 titles and finished runners-up 3 times. Argentina have reached the semi-finals 6 times in World Cup history and advanced every time: 1930, 1986, 1990, 2014, 2022, and 2026 (no semi-finals were held in 1978).
7. In World Cup history, Argentina are the country with the most semi-final appearances while maintaining a perfect advancement record. According to data platforms, Argentina have advanced to the World Cup final for the 7th time in their history, second only to Germany, who have reached the final 8 times.
8. As the defending World Cup champions, Argentina have achieved a three-peat of major tournaments: 2021 Copa America, 2022 World Cup, and 2024 Copa America. After advancing to the final, Argentina will aim for a four-peat of major titles. Argentina have scored 19 goals in the 2026 World Cup, the highest number of goals by a single team in a single edition since Brazil (19 goals) in 1970.
9. Argentina scored two goals in the last match, extending their streak of scoring at least 2 goals in 13 consecutive World Cup matches, setting a tournament record. Argentina have also won 7 consecutive matches in this World Cup, a feat only previously achieved by Brazil in their 2002 title-winning campaign.
10. Statistics show that Argentina have never lost to Spain on the American continent, with three wins and one draw in four encounters. However, all these matches were played in Buenos Aires. Argentina's last loss to a European team was a 4-3 defeat to France in 2018. Additionally, they have a favorable historical record against European teams in finals, winning 3 out of 5 encounters.
 

[(Argentina) Neutral]:
1. If Argentina successfully defend their title, they will have the opportunity to break multiple curses: In World Cup history, only Italy in 1938 and Brazil in 1962 have successfully defended the title. No team has successfully defended the World Cup since 1962, a span of 64 years (1962–2026). Since the introduction of the FIFA ranking system in 1992, the team ranked first in the FIFA rankings before the World Cup have never won the tournament, a span of 32 years (1994–2026). Argentina were ranked first in the FIFA rankings before this World Cup. In World Cup history, only Brazil, Italy, and Germany have won more than 3 titles. Each of them waited exactly 24 years after winning their 3rd title to win their 4th: Brazil (1970–1994), Italy (1982–2006), Germany (1990–2014). Argentina won their 3rd World Cup title in 2022 and now face this curse. Since Brazil in 2002, no team that won all three group stage matches has gone on to win the title, a span of 24 years (2002–2026). In this World Cup, Argentina, France, and Mexico all advanced as group winners with perfect records. France and Mexico have already been eliminated, and Argentina now face this curse in the final.
2. Since 1982, every World Cup final has featured players from both Inter Milan and Bayern Munich, a streak that has lasted 11 editions. Among the semi-finalists in this World Cup, France had Inter's Marcus Thuram and Bayern's Michael Olise and Dayot Upamecano, England had Bayern's Harry Kane, Argentina have Inter's Lautaro Martinez, while Spain have no players from either Inter or Bayern. With France and England eliminated, the final will, for the first time in 44 years, feature no Bayern Munich player, while Inter Milan's streak continues.
 

[Tips]:
Spain shut out France in the semi-finals to advance to the final, boasting an extremely high advancement rate in major tournament semi-finals, an eight-match knockout winning streak, a record six clean sheets in a single World Cup, never trailing throughout the tournament.

Their possession-based midfield can limit Lionel Messi's distribution, and winger Lamine Yamal's explosive pace can directly target Argentina's slower-turning defense.

Although Argentina have reached the final for two consecutive editions, with strong offensive firepower and outstanding comeback resilience, multiple extra-time battles have drained the stamina of their veteran players, exposing clear defensive vulnerabilities and an over-reliance on Lionel Messi for offense.

Moreover, their unbeaten record against Spain was all achieved on home soil, and their away advantage is no longer present.

Spain, with a young and energetic squad, balanced offense and defense, and a commendable win rate against South American teams in World Cups, can rely on their systemic stability and defensive dominance to contain Argentina's attacks and claim the championship.
 

[Recommended]:
Spain (-0/0.5)