AFCON 2025
Reigning European champions Spain will take on World champions Argentina in a blockbuster World Cup final on Sunday to wrap up what has been considered a very successful World Cup by FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino.
Argentina walk into Sunday’s final at MetLife Stadium as defending champions, but Spain have quietly built the more complete case for glory. La Roja have conceded just once all tournament, boast arguably the best midfield in world football, and have dismantled better opposition than Argentina on their way to the final.
France had arguably the finest collection of individual talents at the World Cup with the likes of Mbappe, Olise, Barcola, and reigning Ballon D’or winner, Dembele. Les Blues had a brilliant run scoring for fun until they met Spain in the semi-finals.
The final pits the world’s top two ranked teams against each other for the first time in World Cup history and brings together the reigning European and South American champions. Spain, chasing their second World Cup title since 2010, will fancy their chances of denying Lionel Messi a fairytale send-off.
Here are three reasons Spain will get the job done.
1. The best defense left in the tournament
Spain conceded only once in their run to the final, a record built on discipline as much as talent. Charles De Ketelaere’s goal for Belgium in the quarterfinal ended a World Cup-record 649 minutes without conceding, breaking a mark that had stood since Italy’s Walter Zenga in 1990. No side in this tournament, including Argentina, has defended with that level of control. Barcelona’s teenage defender, Pau Cubarsí, has been phenomenal in the tournament, alongside former Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte.
2. Rodri and the deepest midfield in the tournament
Spain’s midfield, built around reigning Ballon d’Or winner Rodri alongside Pedri, Fabián Ruiz, and Dani Olmo, is widely regarded as the most complete unit left in the competition. Rodri’s return to full fitness has raised Spain’s ceiling considerably; he controls tempo, breaks up opposition attacks, and dictates games from deep in a way no player in Argentina’s XI can replicate. Where Argentina lean heavily on physicality in the middle, Spain control matches from their robust and highly technical midfield set-up, and that structural advantage tends to matter most in a one-off final.
3. Spain have brushed aside elite opposition, not scraped past minnows
Spain’s knockout run reads like a statement: they eliminated Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Round of 16, beat Belgium, then routed France 2-0 in the semifinal without ever looking troubled. Argentina’s path, by contrast, has been a series of near-disasters. They needed extra time to survive Cape Verde, a nation ranked outside the world’s top 80, in the Round of 32, then required stoppage-time goals to get past both Egypt and England. Spain have won on merit and control; Argentina have repeatedly needed rescuing. In a final where one mistake decides everything, the team that hasn’t been living dangerously has the edge.
Road to the final
Spain topped Group H unbeaten. La Roja started their campaign on a disappointing note, a goalless draw with Cape Verde. However, the former world champions bounced back with wins that secured top spot before their final group game. In the knockouts, they beat Austria in the Round of 32, eliminated Portugal in the Round of 16, edged Belgium 2-1 in the quarterfinal, then outclassed France 2-0 in the semifinal to reach their first final since 2010.
Argentina’s path was far more turbulent. They won their group with victories over Algeria, Austria, and Jordan, then survived a scare against Cape Verde in the Round of 32, needing extra time to advance. A comeback win over Egypt followed in the Round of 16, an extra-time win over Switzerland in the last eight, before a late rally, this time beating England 2-1 in the semifinal through goals from Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez in the final minutes.
Head-to-head record
Argentina and Spain have met 14 times across all competitions, with the head-to-head record split at 6 wins apiece and 2 draws. Spain have won four of the last six meetings, though Argentina’s last victory over La Roja came back in 2010. The two nations have met once before at a World Cup, with Argentina winning 2-1 in the 1966 group stage.
What’s on the line for both teams?
A win would give Spain their second World Cup title, their first since the 2010 triumph in South Africa, ending a 16-year wait. It would also complete a Euro-World Cup double for this generation, following their Euro 2024 title in Germany, joining Spain’s own 2010-2012 side and a handful of nations in history to hold both trophies at once, while a win would see Argentina become only the third nation to win back-to-back World Cup titles, joining Italy (1934, 1938) and Brazil (1958, 1962). It would be their fourth World Cup crown overall and would extend their unbeaten run to a team-record 15 straight games.
