Argentina and Spain to meet in World Cup final for only the second time

The World Cup final on Sunday will feature a rare clash between Argentina and Spain, marking only their second-ever meeting in the tournament's history and their second competitive match overall. This highly anticipated final will take place in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Their sole previous World Cup encounter occurred on July 13, 1966, in Birmingham, where Argentina secured a 2-1 victory in the group stage, with Luis Artime scoring both goals for Argentina and Pirri netting the equalizer for Spain. Argentina advanced to the quarterfinals, while Spain was eliminated in the group stage.

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Argentina won 2-1.

Overall, the two nations have met 14 times, with a perfectly balanced record of six wins each and two draws. Excluding the 1966 World Cup match, Spain has won six of the remaining 13 friendly encounters, Argentina has won five, and two ended in draws. Their most recent meeting was in March 2018 in Madrid, a preparation match for the World Cup in Russia, where Spain decisively won 6-1, with Isco scoring a hat-trick.

This final marks Spain's second World Cup final appearance; they won their first in 2010 against the Netherlands. Argentina will be competing in their seventh World Cup final, aiming for their fourth title after victories in 1978, 1986, and 2022. Argentina enters the final with a perfect record of seven wins and 19 goals scored, while Spain has conceded only one goal throughout the tournament. Argentina has the opportunity to become only the third nation to successfully defend their World Cup title, a feat previously achieved only by Italy (1934, 1938) and Brazil (1958, 1962).

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Spain decisively beat them 6-1, and Isco scored three goals.