Argentina will defend their World Cup crown against Spain after overturning England 2-1 in the second semi-final on 15 July. The result completed the final pairing for Sunday, 19 July, when the tournament’s 104th and last match will be played at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
England led in Atlanta, but Argentina found a response through Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez to turn the semi-final around. It was another decisive night for Lionel Messi, whose pursuit of a second successive World Cup title now has one final chapter left.
The comeback carries particular weight because Argentina entered the tournament as the reigning champions. Their route to the final has demanded resilience: they recovered from 2-0 down to beat Egypt 3-2 in the round of 16, needed extra time to defeat Switzerland 3-1 in the quarter-finals, and then came from behind again against England.
Spain reached the final a day earlier with a 2-0 victory over France in Dallas. The matchup therefore brings together the defending world champions and the European champions, while Spain seek their second World Cup title after 2010. Argentina are aiming for a fourth, following triumphs in 1978, 1986 and 2022.
The final will also put Messi back at the centre of football’s biggest occasion. The Argentina captain is appearing at a record sixth World Cup and has scored eight times at this tournament. Whatever happens in East Rutherford, the 19 July fixture is set to be one of the defining dates of the expanded 48-team, 104-match World Cup.
France and England now move to the third-place play-off in Miami on Saturday, 18 July. For Argentina and Spain, however, the focus is already fixed on New Jersey: one match, one trophy, and a final that joins two of the game’s most decorated national teams.