The World Cup final is a story within a story, within a story, within a story. It contains multitudes.
Will one of the greatest players in the history of the game, Lionel Messi, at 39, playing his (almost certainly) last game for his country, get the better of his heir apparent, Lamine Yamal, just 19, playing his first World Cup final? Or will Yamal triumph?
What's At Stake?
Will it be victory for Argentina, who have shown, at this tournament, that they don’t know the meaning of losing, repeatedly winning with heart-stopping last-second heroics? Or will the Cup go to Spain, who are on a record run of 37 matches without being defeated in open play? Over this time, they’ve registered 28 wins and seven draws, with their one loss coming during a penalty shoot-out at the 2025 Nations League final to Portugal. More importantly, Spain have conceded just once at the World Cup en route to the final.
Will Argentina do what no team has done since 1962, and defend their World Cup title, with Messi going one better than the great Diego Maradona (Argentina, defending champions from 1986, lost the 1990 World Cup final to West Germany, reducing Maradona to tears)? Or will Spain repeat their feat of being European champions and World champions concurrently, which they did back in 2010, their only World Cup triumph (West Germany in 1974 and France in 2000 are the only other teams to have achieved this)?
The final will see the divisive presence of US President Donald Trump, and Fifa will yet again disgard their own rulebook by allowing a halftime show that will stretch the break to more than the mandated 15 minutes. Thankfully, most of these things will be forgotten when the two finalists get down to battle.
Argentina has reached the final because Messi, despite his age, has repeatedly found ways of breaching defences, whether it’s with goals—with 8 goals, he is the joint top-scorer at the tournament with France’s Kylian Mbappe—or assists, where his count of four is only below Michael Olise’s five. His teammates have tirelessly covered ground around him and risen to the occasion by keeping their cool and executing their skills to perfection even in the most high-stress situations. Enzo Fernandez, Rodrigo De Paul and Alex Mac Allister came to the World Cup out of sorts and form, but fired up by an almost religious zeal to win the Cup for Messi, they have lit up the tournament.
For Spain, the star of their campaign has been midfielder Rodri, who has covered more ground than any other player at this tournament. He has made more successful passes than any other player at a World Cup since such records started being kept in 1966. Every ball goes through him, no one breaks up play better, and no one connects play better. Rodri is a machine, the keeper of Spain’s unique footballing identity, which was built in the late 90s at Barcelona, and then adopted across the country. It’s the same identity that won them their first World Cup in 2010.
The Case For Spain
Spain also has the best defence, by far, in the world. The centrebacks—Pau Cubarsi and Aymeric Laporte—are redefining what it means to maintain a high line and make interceptions and tackles of stunning quality. The fullbacks, Marc Cucurella and Pedro Porro, are indefatigable, running up and down the channel, and in concert with wingers Alex Baena and Yamal, constantly overlapping to create attacking angles.
In fact, there is not a single player on the Spanish team who is not supremely technically gifted, and who has not tirelessly offered space and passing options across the pitch. Fabian Ruiz has been brilliant alongside Rodri, but he’s hardly ever in the limelight. The same applies to Dani Olmo, who has been stellar in his attacking 10 role. But the least visible player in Spain, the consummate team player, is Mikel Oyarzabal. The quiet striker from the Basque country, who has played all his life in one club, Real Sociedad, and who has no agent, has been Spain’s goalscoring hero. With five goals so far, he is Spain’s top scorer, and among the top across teams in the tournament.
If he adds to that in the final and Spain lift the trophy, his anonymity, so precious to him, will be a thing of the past.
Rudraneil Sengupta is the author of The Beast Within, a detective novel set in Delhi.