The 2026 FIFA World Cup final is set to kick off on Sunday, July 19 from East Rutherford, NJ.
Spain and Argentina survived five weeks, five rounds and seven games apiece to earn their spot in the championship match. It’s Spain’s first appearance in a World Cup final since 2010; it’s Argentina’s second appearance in as many attempts.
It’s a fascinating match that will pit the reigning champion of Europe against the reigning champion of South America—but before it all goes down in New Jersey, let’s break down how each team got there, starting with la furia roja of Spain.
Group Stage: 0-0 draw with Cabo Verde, 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia, 1-0 win over Uruguay
Spain’s only blip at the 2026 World Cup was its opening game: a shocking, near-impossible 0-0 draw with Cabo Verde, one of the smallest nations to ever qualify for the tournament. (We didn’t know it at the time, but Cabo Verde was set to go on a generational World Cup run, holding two-time champion Uruguay to a draw before taking Argentina to extra time in the Round of 32.) The world panicked on Spain’s behalf, but Spain, to its endless credit, never did.
“In this World Cup there’s extreme equality and difficulty,” said Spain coach Luis de la Fuente after the draw, via Alex Kirkland of ESPN. “This team was clearly inferior to us, but they did the things they had to do well.
“We’re calm. This is a long tournament, and in our head we’ve still got seven games left.”
Spain’s calmness paid off in a big way against Saudi Arabia and Uruguay. It beat both teams by a combined score of 5-0 and sailed into the knockout rounds in first place in group H. It did most of this without the regular help of talismanic teenager Lamine Yamal, who entered the tournament recovering from an injury. He played just 45 minutes against Saudi Arabia before putting in a respectable 76-minute shift against Uruguay and returning to full fitness.