{"id":56601,"date":"2026-07-17T17:25:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T17:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/56601\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T17:25:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T17:25:14","slug":"world-cup-final-can-spains-defense-stop-messi-led-argentina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/56601\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup Final: Can Spain’s defense stop Messi-led Argentina?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The images<\/a> are almost impossible to believe.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s Lionel Messi<\/a>, cradling and bathing a five-month-old baby in a 2007 photo shoot, right around when Messi, then 20, was emerging as a star for Barcelona.<\/p>\n

Incredibly, that baby was Lamine Yamal, now a 19-year-old soccer phenom for Barcelona who is starring for Spain in this World Cup.<\/p>\n

And as fate would have it, Messi and Argentina are set to face Yamal and Spain in the 2026 World Cup final on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium \u2014 temporarily renamed New York New Jersey Stadium \u2014 in East Rutherford, N.J.<\/p>\n

Messi and Yamal\u2019s kismet reunion only adds to the intrigue around a premium matchup between Argentina and Spain, the No. 1 and No. 2 teams, respectively, in FIFA\u2019s global rankings.<\/p>\n

Spain opened as the favorite, with +115 odds to win the World Cup final, per DraftKings.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s everything you need to know about Sunday\u2019s final:<\/p>\n

\"InLionel Messi cradles Lamine Yamal, who was five months old during a 2007 photo shoot. Messi (inset, left) and Yamal (inset, right) are pictured in 2026. (AP Photos)
\nARGENTINA<\/p>\n

Argentina are attempting to win their second consecutive World Cup title\u00a0 \u2014 and fourth overall \u2014 in what could be the 39-year-old Messi\u2019s final appearance in the global tournament.<\/p>\n

Competing in his sixth World Cup, Messi is still playing at otherworldly level, totaling eight goals and four assists through seven games.<\/p>\n

He remains the undisputed focal point of an Argentina offense that\u2019s among the most potent units in the sport. Messi hasn\u2019t done it alone, as Lautaro Martinez has three goals in the World Cup and Enzo Fernandez has two.<\/p>\n

Argentina have demonstrated a flair for the dramatic, eking out instant-classic victories over Cape Verde, Egypt and, most recently, England.<\/p>\n

In that 2-1 win over England in Wednesday\u2019s semifinal, Messi assisted on both of Argentina\u2019s goals, first in the 85th minute, and then two minutes into stoppage time, to complete a furious comeback.<\/p>\n

Indeed, Argentina have team-of-destiny vibes.<\/p>\n

After coming up short in his first four trips to the World Cup, Messi could further bolster his greatest-of-all-time r\u00e9sum\u00e9 with a second championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been the best over these past four years, either you like it or not, and no matter what anyone says,\u201d Messi said after beating England.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce again, we\u2019ve established ourselves among the top two teams in the world. That proves that everything we\u2019ve done is no fluke and that nothing was handed to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Argentina are 7-0 at this World Cup.<\/p>\n

SPAIN<\/p>\n

Spain operates much differently than high-scoring Argentina, relying instead on a historic defense that\u2019s stifled opponents throughout the World Cup.<\/p>\n

Stalwarts such as Aymeric Laporte, Rodri and Pau Cubarsi have helped Spain record six shutouts \u2014 or \u201cclean sheets\u201d \u2014 at this tournament, the most ever at a single World Cup.<\/p>\n

Through seven games, Spain has allowed just one goal.<\/p>\n

Spain locked down France\u2019s impressive attack in the semifinal, holding Kylian Mbappe and company scoreless in a 2-0 win. Whenever Spain takes a lead, they love to revert to ball control and allow their defense to finish off the game.<\/p>\n

Spain seeks its second World Cup title. The first came in 2010.<\/p>\n

The availability and effectiveness of Yamal and Pedro Porro \u2014 two of Spain\u2019s top offensive players who are both dealing with injuries \u2014 are factors to monitor between now and Sunday, but both are expected to play.<\/p>\n

Spain are 6-0-1 at this World Cup.<\/p>\n

\"LionelSoccer star Lionel Messi, 20, helps to bathe Lamine Yamal, who was merely six months old at the time, during a photo session in Sept. 2007 in the dressing room of the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain. (AP Photo\/Joan Monfort)
\nHALFTIME SHOW<\/p>\n

As if there wasn\u2019t already enough starpower in the game itself, Sunday\u2019s halftime show is set to feature A-list artists from four different countries.<\/p>\n

Justin Bieber, Madonna, BTS and Shakira are co-headlining the mid-game concert.<\/p>\n

It will be the first-ever halftime show at a World Cup final, punctuating this North American tournament with a Super Bowl-like element.<\/p>\n

OTHER FESTIVITIES<\/p>\n

There will be plenty to take in before the start of the game, too, including Jennifer Hudson singing the U.S. national anthem.<\/p>\n

FIFA will also host a pregame closing ceremony that is set to feature a special appearance by Tom Cruise.<\/p>\n

Laura Pausini, Nicole Scherzinger, Robbie Williams and IShowSpeed are all scheduled to perform at the closing ceremony.<\/p>\n

TRUMP AND MAMDANI<\/p>\n

President Trump and Mayor Mamdani are both set to attend the World Cup final, but in different capacities.<\/p>\n

Trump is expected to present the World Cup trophy to the winning team. Trump previously received the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize, which was presented by FIFA President Gianni Infantino.<\/p>\n

Mamdani, meanwhile, has said he plans to attend the game simply to watch it.<\/p>\n

The Mayor has been active throughout the tournament. He provided 1,000 affordable tickets for World Cup matches at New York New Jersey Stadium and, more recently, watched Argentina\u2019s win over England on Wednesday with inmates at Rikers Island.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The images are almost impossible to believe. There\u2019s Lionel Messi, cradling and bathing a five-month-old baby in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56602,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4027,23527,23526,3785,938,332,13326,5303,4565,17,23302,964,369,23317],"class_list":["post-56601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spain","tag-argentina","tag-bts","tag-halftime-show","tag-justin-bieber","tag-lamine-yamal","tag-lionel-messi","tag-madonna","tag-mamdani","tag-shakira","tag-spain","tag-tom-cruise","tag-trump","tag-world-cup","tag-world-cup-final"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56601\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}