World Cup 2026 the Soccer Final Written for Messi: Will Spain Be the Spoiler?  Argentina-Spain Sunday at 2pm

Football will witness a scene that will be hard to replicate this Sunday. Lionel Messi, at 39 years old, will play his third and final World Cup final, seeking to lift the sport’s most coveted trophy for the second time.  Facing them will be Spain, a team that represents the generational change in European football and whose main figure is Lamine Yamal, the young man who starred alongside the Argentine in a historic photograph when he was just a baby.  Messi appeared in New York on Friday during a Fanatics Fest event, accompanied by Emiliano Martínez, Lionel Scaloni, Luis de la Fuente, and Rodri. It was the Argentine captain’s last public appearance before the decisive match, and his remarks focused on the game against Spain, especially his reunion with Yamal. 

Kevin Durant takes a photo with Rodri, Tom Brady, Novak Djokovic, Emiliano Martínez, Leo Messi, Rio Ferdinand, and other celebrities. 

Tom Brady’s question about that image that went around the world opened one of the most anticipated moments of the event.  “That photo is crazy because, well, in real life it’s difficult to take a picture with a baby and then face him in a World Cup,” Messi replied.  The photograph, pictured below, taken in 2007 during a charity session organized by the newspaper Sport and Unicef, showed a 20-year-old Messi bathing a baby of a few months old who years later would become one of the great figures of world football.  Now, they will both face each other for the World Cup.  “Lamine plays for a club I love, a club I always wish the best for. He’s one of the world’s leading figures and, at 19, he has his whole career ahead of him, a great opportunity to achieve something historic,” Messi said. 

The Argentine, however, made it clear that there would be no room for sentimentality on Sunday.  “We will try to play a good game so that he doesn’t have his best form, although it’s difficult. Both he and Spain have great players, a great style of play, and we have our own strengths as well.”  The final will also be a clash between two coaches who have built winning cycles from different paths.  Lionel Scaloni, 48, arrives at the match as the coach who transformed Argentina since 2018 and who has already won the 2022 Qatar World Cup, the Finalissima against Italy, and the 2021 and 2024 Copa América titles. On the other side will be Luis de la Fuente, 65, champion of the 2023 Nations League and Euro 2024 with Spain. 

Both coaches expressed their admiration for Messi during their previous press conferences.  Lionel Scaloni was emphatic in defining the impact of the Argentine captain.  “He is pure history. History, legend.”  The Argentine coach highlighted that Messi, at 39 years old, continues to compete at the highest level and asked that the final matches of a career approaching its end be valued.  “Like what happened with Diego, ten years later we miss him. We still have Leo here and we have to value him.”  Luis De la Fuente also referred to the Argentinian and described him as an ‘ unrepeatable footballer ‘, in addition to highlighting his behavior as an example for new generations. 

For Spain, the challenge will be stopping a player who is having one of the best individual tournaments of his World Cup career. Messi arrives at the final with eight goals in six matches, and has become the oldest player to score a brace in a World Cup.  Furthermore, he is already the tournament’s all-time top scorer with 21 goals, surpassing the records of figures such as Miroslav Klose, Ronaldo Nazario and Gerd Müller.  But Argentina doesn’t depend solely on Messi. 

Scaloni’s team arrives at MetLife Stadium after overcoming extremely demanding matches and with a characteristic that has accompanied them since Qatar: the ability to respond in critical moments.  The Argentine team once again displayed a blend of experience and renewal. Players who were key figures in the 2022 World Cup, such as Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister, and Julián Álvarez, now arrive with greater maturity, while footballers like Lautaro Martínez have assumed a decisive role. 

Lautaro Martínez Heads in the Winning Goal Against England

Lautaro scored both goals in the semi-final against England and arrives as one of Argentina’s biggest offensive threats.  Spain, on the other hand, represents a generation seeking to definitively establish itself. European champions in 2024, they eliminated France in the semifinals and arrive with an identity based on possession, individual talent, and the ability to control matches through ball control.  Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Mikel Oyarzabal and Rodri lead a team that combines youth and experience.

Pedro Porro (front) and Mikel Oyarzabal of Spain celebrate a goal this Tuesday, in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final match between France and Spain at AT&T Stadium in Arlington (United States).

The final will also put a historic record at stake.  Argentina will try to become the first world champion to repeat as champion since Brazil in 1962. No team has managed to win two consecutive World Cups in more than six decades.  For Messi, it also represents an unprecedented opportunity. None of the great footballers with whom his career is compared played in a World Cup final at 39. Pelé won his third World Cup at 29; Diego Maradona was the same age when he lost the 1990 final in Italy. 

On Sunday, Argentina will look to extend an era that began with the 2021 Copa América and continued with the Finalissima, the Qatar World Cup, and the 2024 Copa América. Spain will try to close the cycle of a generation that has already conquered Europe and now wants to dominate the world.  And at the center of it all will be Messi.  The player who for years sought the World Cup title that would complete his legacy now has the chance to win a second title four years after his first. An opportunity that modern football has never seen, and one that will transform MetLife Stadium into the stage for a final with historic consequences, regardless of the outcome.