Spain vs Argentina World Cup head-to-head: Who holds edge before the final? What's Messi's record against La Roja?

After 103 matches and countless memories, the FIFA World Cup 2026 is finally coming to an end on July 19 when Spain take on Argentina for one last time in this edition at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. While Argentina are eyeing to defend their crown, Spain are aiming to regain the trophy for the first time since 2010.

In fact, this will be the first time in history the champions of Europe, Spain, will take on the South American title-holders in a World Cup final. Argentina are striving to become the third team since Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962) to win back-to-back World Cups.

The Spain vs Argentina could also become the final World Cup appearance for Lionel Messi, widely considered the greatest player of all time. The three-time champions Argentina have shown an astonishing never-say-die attitude during the FIFA World Cup 2026 tournament.

After dominating the group stage, Argentina survived scares against debutants Cabo Verde and Egypt before a late comeback inspired Messi saw them over the line on both occasions. They mounted another comeback against England in the final minutes of their semifinal to book a final spot.

Spain, on the other hand, have been almost flawless, conceding just a single goal in their seven matches so far and sweeping past France in the semifinals. Notably, it was the same Spanish side that were held by Cabo Verde in their campaign opener in the group stages.

Spain vs Argentina head-to-head record

As far as the head-to-head records are concerned, Spain and Argentina have faced 14 times in international football, with both sides winning six games each. Two matches ended in drawn encounters. Interestingly, the only time Spain faced Argentina in a World Cup match was way back in 1966 which the La Albiceleste won 2-1.

How has Lionel Messi's fared against Spain?

Messi has a deep connection with Spain despite being an Argentinean. Having moved to La Masia Academy in Barcelona at the age of 13, Messi went to make a name for himself at the Catalan giants. He played 778 matches for Barcelona and scored 672 goals, breaking all-time club records.

However, Messi faced Spain only on three occasions with Argentina losing in two of them. Messi's first match against Spain came in 2006 in a FIFA friendly, which Argentina lost 1-2. Three years later, the two teams once again faced with the result and scoreline being the same.

Against Spain, Messi scored twice for Argentina. His first goal came from the spot during Argentina 1-2 loss in 2009. A year later, Messi broke the deadlock against the then-newly-crowned world champions, before Gonzalo Higuan, Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero also netted one each as Argentina won 4-1. At the World Cup, Messi scored 21 goals against 15 teams.

What happened when Spain met Argentina last time?

The last time Argentina met Spain in international football, the La Albiceleste were hammered 1-6 at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid in 2018 in a FIFA friendly ahead of the World Cup. Isco scored a hattrick for Spain, besides Diego Costa, Thiago Alcântara, and Iago Aspas, who also got into the scoresheet. For Argentina, Nicolas Otamendi netted the only goal while Messi missed the game due to an injury.

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