Spain vs Argentina: World Cup final predictions, schedule, Messi news

Spain vs Argentina: World Cup final predictions, schedule, Messi newsSpain face Argentina in the World Cup final as Lionel Messi, Lamine Yamal and history dominate the build-up.Published On 19 Jul 2026Spain and Argentina meet in Sunday’s World Cup final in New Jersey, where the trophy and a place in football history are at stake.Away from the pitch, the build-up has centred on Lionel Messi, Lamine Yamal, predictions, wildfire smoke and the referee chosen for the biggest match in the sport.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Match Preview: Spain and Argentina collide in seismic World Cup final in USlist 2 of 4Spain vs Argentina: Five key factors that could decide World Cup finallist 3 of 4‘Spanish style’ wins over New York’s die-hard World Cup fans ahead of finallist 4 of 4Saka hat-trick helps England down France to win World Cup Bronze Finalend of listHere’s what to know before the final kicks off:What’s the schedule for the World Cup final? Spain vs Argentina, on Sunday, July 19 (19:00 GMT), East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. What are the predictions?This will mark just the second FIFA World Cup meeting between Spain and Argentina. Their only previous encounter came during the 1966 group stage, where Argentina edged Spain 2-1.Since the turn of the century, Spain have enjoyed the upper hand in this fixture, winning three of their four clashes with Argentina.According to the Opta supercomputer, Spain enter the final as favourites to lift the 2026 FIFA World Cup trophy. Across 25,000 pre-match simulations, Spain emerged as champions 59.6 percent of the time, while Argentina successfully defended their title in the remaining 40.4 percent.Looking only at the outcome after 90 minutes, Spain claimed victory in 45 percent of the simulations. A draw, sending the final into extra time, occurred in 29.0 percent of runs, while Argentina won in normal time in the remaining 26 percent.Spain vs Argentina [Courtesy of Opta Analyst]What other things are happening?Messi’s final World Cup?Fans are following Messi’s final training session, the Golden Boot race, the viral image of a baby Yamal with the Argentinian legend, and what many see as a symbolic passing of the torch, with the Spanish teenager hoping to announce himself as football’s next global superstar.Canadian wildfire smoke blankets New York before World Cup finalSmoke from Canadian wildfires has blanketed much of the northeastern US, triggering ⁠health alerts, but a ⁠cold front expected on the weekend will help dissipate the dangerous haze in time for Sunday’s World Cup final in the New York area.