How do Spain and Argentina stack up? World Cup final teams by the numbers.
Forty-eight nations competed in the largest FIFA World Cup in history and two are left standing, with Spain in search of its second World Cup title and Argentina shooting for back-to-back championships.
As Spain and Argentina head into the 2026 men's World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday, soccer fans have already experienced heartbreak, pure joy and controversy during the historic 39-day tournament.
"Spain came into the tournament as the favorite," Paul Tenorio of The Athletic told CBS News. "This is a team that now is riding a 37-game unbeaten streak going into the finals." But on the other side, he said, "Argentina is Argentina. They've won three consecutive international tournaments going into this World Cup, and they've done it with the best player of all time, [Lionel] Messi being kind of the heartbeat of the team. You can tell that the Argentina players are playing for Messi."
Here's what to know about the World Cup final teams, players and their records so far:
Despite being one of Europe's top teams, the first and only time La Roja lifted the World Cup trophy was on July 11, 2010, in Johannesburg, South Africa, after a team of superstar Spanish players defeated the Netherlands 1-0.
Spain is one of just two teams ever to lose its World Cup opening match and go on to win the title — the other, ironically, being Argentina. It is also the first European nation to win a World Cup played outside Europe.