Lionel Messi’s Final Flop and Rodri’s Shocking Triumph: The Untold Story of the 2026 World Cup Showdown

Spain vs Argentina: World Cup final 2026 stats

• This was the first time the reigning Copa America champions had faced the reigning European champions in a World Cup final
• Argentina were the sixth reigning champions to reach a World Cup final – the first two won (Italy in 1938 and Brazil in 1962), but the last four have lost (Argentina in 1990 and 2026, Brazil in 1998 and France in 2022)
• This was the first time the two nations ranked first (Argentina) and second (Spain) in FIFA’s rankings had met at any stage of a World Cup
• Messi’s side were competing in their seventh World Cup final, with only Germany playing more (8)
• The captain became the second player in World Cup history to appear in three finals (2014, 2022 and 2026), along with Brazil’s Cafu (1994, 1998, 2002)
• At 39 years and 25 days of age, Messi became the oldest outfield player to appear in a final
• Having won all seven of their matches at the 2026 edition, Argentina failed to become the first team since Brazil in 2002 (won 7/7) to have a 100% winning record at a single edition
• Spain’s total of seven clean sheets is the most by any side at a single World Cup tournament and they are unbeaten in their last 38 matches in all competitions since a 1-0 defeat to Colombia in March 2024
• They have set the longest ever unbeaten run by a European nation

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