📰 The 3️⃣ big storylines for the World Cup final 💥 | OneFootball

Then there were two. Only Argentina and Spain remain of the 48 teams who arrived in North America seeking World Cup glory.

What will Sunday's mouthwatering match-up bring? We look at the three biggest storylines dominating the build-up.

Users in Australia can bet on their picks with Ladbrokes here.

Master meets the student

Everyone has undoubtedly witnessed that iconic image of Lionel Messi, Lamine Yamal and a bathtub by now but just in case it has escaped your attention, it is above in all its glory.

Sometimes the universe truly works in incredible ways. The odds are astronomical of the one child who was selected from the raffle to take part in a 2007 photoshoot with Barcelona's then up-and-coming star would then become the successor to the person charged with bathing him.

But that's the scenario. Yamal was just five months old then but almost 20 years later, he'll face off against the magic of Messi, who is aiming to do something even Diego Maradona couldn't and lead his nation to back-to-back world titles.

With eight goals and four assists so far this summer, it is clear that the old master has no intention either of slowing down or of giving up his crown without a big fight.

The prodigy had a slow start to a tournament which he began fighting off an injury but he has came to life in the knockout phase and at the perfect time too, setting up a duel for the ages.

Interestingly, they are also the only two players at this tournament to have completed 20+ dribbles. The similarities continue...

Is Spain's defence too good?

There is an old saying in football that attacks win games but defences win championships.

There may be no better example of that than this summer's Spanish side who, despite having star forwards like the aforementioned Yamal and Mikel Oyarzabal, are a side built on their defensive strength.

Argentina's attack is good. Very good in fact. They have scored 19 goals in their seven games so far, which includes an incredible record of netting three in five of those games and scoring at least two in every single fixture.

But Spain, with Rodri shielding a settled defence marshalled excellently by Pau Cubarsí and Aymeric Laporte and flanked by Pedro Porro and Marc Cucurella, may be better at the back.

They have let just one goal in this summer (to Belgium's Charles De Ketelaere in the quarter-final) for an average of 0.14 per game and of teams to play 5+ games at a single edition of the competition, it is the lowest average in World Cup history.

Those are record-breaking numbers. The kind that often lead to glory.

Argentine omens

Now with all of the above said regarding Spain's defensive dominance, there are some reasons to believe their name could be on the trophy again - particularly after their most recent request to wear their 'lucky' dark blue kit against England was granted and they went on to win.

Since Lionel Scaloni took over as coach in 2018, they have never lost to a European side in 11 meetings, their most notable win being the 2022 World Cup final against France.

Argentina have also won their last 14 matches in all competitions and would break the all-time streak for a South American side with a win on Sunday, as they are currently level with Brazil's record-setting 1997 run.

In Alexis Mac Allister, they have the player who has featured in the most World Cup games without losing (13), with 11 wins and two draws, both of which were won on penalties.

Incredibly too, they have yet to lead in the 90th minute of any of their four knockout games this summer but have always found a way to get the job done come the final whistle.

Is that the mark of champions?

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