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.  

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.

“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: 

Spain looks for its 2nd World Cup title

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.

Without the likes of Gerard Piqué, Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas, Spain’s lineup at the 2026 World Cup signifies a passing of the torch to a new generation.

Coach Luis de la Fuente took over the reins of Spain’s national team after Luis Enrique exited following Spain’s disappointing World Cup round of 16 exit in Qatar in 2022. 

De la Fuente chose several young players for his World Cup roster, including 19-year-old Pau Cubarsi and 21-year-old Dean Huijsen, some of whom he worked with when he was in charge of the U-19s and U-21s.

At just 19 years old, Lamine Yamal has been one of Spain’s breakout stars. He helped lead the team to the 2024 Euro title, and Spain’s World Cup squad includes 15 other players from the Euro roster.

“I think that I have very high expectations,” Yamal told CBS News’ Jon Wertheim in a “60 Minutes” interview last year. “I think it’s been a long time since Spain was a serious contender to win the World Cup. I see that the country is excited. I am very excited…. I feel good. I’m really looking forward to it, and I’m going to enjoy it a lot.”

Spain is entering the final with a 37-match unbeaten run in regulation time, matching Italy’s all-time world record. 

In its seven World Cup matches before the final, Spain has conceded only one goal, against Belgium (2-1) in its quarterfinal. Goalkeeper Unai Simón had kept a clean sheet for a record 650 minutes, the longest scoreless streak at the tournament.

Another player to watch is 29-year-old Mikel Oyarzabal, who has netted five goals since the start of the World Cup and matched David Villa’s record for the most goals scored by a Spaniard in a single tournament.

Oyarzabal and Yamal are neck and neck in their attempts on goal at the World Cup, with 22 and 23 attempts, respectively. But Spain’s defense has a lot of work to do against Argentina’s superstar Lionel Messi.

Back-to-back World Cup victory on the line for Argentina

Coming into the World Cup as the defending champions, La Albiceleste are looking to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since Brazil achieved the rare feat in 1958 and 1962. The only other nation to have done so is Italy in 1934 and 1938.

With Messi leading the charge, Argentina’s victory over France at the World Cup final in Qatar gave the team its third title and ended a 36-year drought.

During this year’s tournament, Messi further cemented his legacy by becoming the all-time leading scorer in men’s World Cup history. The 39-year-old has scored 21 goals across six World Cup tournaments, and he’s currently tied with Kylian Mbappé as the leading scorer in this tournament with eight goals. The No. 10 also has the most attempts on goal, 34, at the tournament.

Messi also holds the record for the most FIFA World Cup appearances, with 32 matches. He is one of only two players, the other being Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, to play in six World Cups. 

Another player to watch is Enzo Fernández. In 2022, the then-21-year-old became the youngest Argentinian to score a goal for Argentina at the World Cup since Messi, who was 18 at the time. In the semifinal against England, Fernández scored a masterful equalizer on a pass from Messi.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni left out nine players from the 2022 winning squad and added several fresh faces who could help support Messi while protecting the defensive line, including Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez.

It was Martinez who headed in a goal on a pass from Messi in the semifinal to give Argentina the stoppage-time win it needed to advance into the final. Argentina is making its seventh World Cup final appearance.

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is regarded as one of the best keepers in the world, known for his distraction tactics and intimidating opponents, and he’s returned to the World Cup final as the reigning Golden Glove winner. Martinez is also the only goalkeeper to win the Best FIFA Goalkeeper twice, in 2022 and 2024.