Spain v Argentina: Prediction, team news, lineups and odds | OneFootball

The biggest prize in world football will be on the line when European champions Spain take on defending world champions Argentina in the 2026 World Cup final.

Spain booked their place in the final with a comfortable 2-0 win over France, while Argentina had to come from behind late on to beat England in their semi-final.

Argentina are looking to become just the third nation to retain the World Cup following their penalty shootout win over France in 2022. Spain are playing in their second-ever World Cup final, 16 years after their success in South Africa.

Spain v Argentina kick-off time

Spain v Argentina kicks off at 8pm BST (3pm local) on Sunday, July 19 at the New York New Jersey Stadium.

Spain v Argentina how to watch

The game will be shown live in the UK on both BBC1 and ITV1, with coverage on both channels starting at 7pm.

BBC Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT will both provide full match commentary.

Spain team news

While most of the Spain squad began preparing for the final at Red Bull New York’s training facilities, Lamine Yamal and ⁠Pedro Porro trained separately from their teammateszs.

The Barcelona winger was spotted wearing strapping on his left thigh, while Luis de la Fuente revealed that Porro is dealing with muscle overload.

But the Spanish football federation (RFEF) ​have said that both players are expected to ⁠be available for the final and that their separate work ​was a precautionary measure as part of workload management.

They are expected to name an unchanged team, with Unai Simon in goal and a back four of Porro, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte and Marc Cucurella.

Rodri has been back to his best throughout the World Cup and anchors the midfield, playing alongside Fabian Ruiz and Dani Olmo.

Mikel Oyarzabal continues to lead the line for Spain, while Lamine Yamal and Alex Baena will provide support from out wide.

Argentina team news

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni made just one change to his team for the semi-final, picking Giuliano Simeone in midfield ahead of Rodrigo De Paul.

But Simeone struggled to make an impact, and De Paul will look to reclaim his place in the starting line-up after an impressive substitute appearance against England.

Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez and Leandro Paredes make up the rest of the midfield, playing in front of a back five of Emi Martinez, Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez and Nicolas Tagliafico.

Since losing his place in the starting line-up, Lautaro Martinez has come off the bench to set up the winner against Egypt, score the third goal against Switzerland and head home the winner against England.

But the Inter Milan striker may have to settle for the super-sub role once again, with Julian Alvarez expected to start alongside Lionel Messi.

Spain v Argentina odds

Spain go into the final as slight favourites and are 27/20 to win in 90 minutes. Argentina are at 14/5, while The Draw is 11/5.

In the ‘To Lift The Trophy’ market which also brings extra-time and penalties into play, Spain are 7/10 to win the World Cup, while Argentina are 7/5 to retain the trophy.

Spain v Argentina predictions

After making a slow start to the 2026 World Cup, Spain have gone from strength to strength in the knockout rounds, deservedly beating Austria, Portugal, Belgium and France.

Argentina haven’t been as convincing in their run to the final, needing extra-time against Cape Verde and Switzerland, while their other two knockout games have required dramatic late comebacks against Egypt and England.

But the reigning champions have shown incredible resilience and have now gone 13 World Cup games without a loss, their most recent coming against Saudi Arabia in their opening game of the 2022 edition.

La Albiceleste also have one of the greatest footballers of all time in Lionel Messi, who has registered eight goals and four assists in the tournament.

But Spain have conceded just one goal across their seven games at this World Cup and have already shown they can silence world-class attacking talent.

They limited a French side containing Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola and Michael Olise to a mere 0.31 expected goals (xG) in the semi-final.

Unlike England, Spain will look to cut off the service to Argentina’s No.10 by dominating possession. That leads us to back a Spain win to nil at 14/5.

A repeat of the first semi-final and another 2-0 win for Spain is available at 11/1.

Finals can often be very cagey affairs, and four of Spain’s seven games at this World Cup have had fewer than three goals. Under 2.5 goals in the final can be backed at 7/10.

Having played a starring role in Spain’s success at Euro 2024, Lamine Yamal was tipped to be one of the best players at this World Cup.

It hasn’t quite worked out like that, with just one goal at the tournament so far. But the 19-year-old looked a lot better against France in the semi-final and is capable of producing a match-winning moment.

He’s 27/10 to score anytime against Argentina. The Barcelona winger is also 15/2 to score the last goal in the final.