Current sectionSportsOnline supporters have cast Sunday's football match as a symbolic contest, reflecting the countries' sharply different foreign policies and fueling antisemitic conspiracy theoriesShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeJTAand Juan Melamed and Joseph StraussJuly 18, 2026Sunday's World Cup final will see Argentina face off against Spain, setting up a showdown between two countries that have recently taken sharply opposing views on Israel.Loading...Click the alert icon to follow topics:ArgentinaMiddle EastPalestiniansHamasIsraeli politicsSpainFIFAAntisemitismIsrael-PalestineCommentsLoading...In the NewsIn the News: Live UpdatesU.S.-Saudi DealIranGazaPalestinian AuthorityLindsey GrahamIsrael ElectionsHaQuizHaaretz PodcastU.S., Iran Exchange Fire for 12th Night in a Row; Houthis Target Saudi Tankers'Liars, Poison': Shin Bet Chief Shared His Anti-media Manifesto With Top AgentsTrump Wants a Lebanon Triumph. Israel Is Losing Its Seat at the TablePolice Let Over 1,000 Jews to Pray Across Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa on Tisha B'AvJudge Justifies Jewish Terror. Israel Must Act on West Bank Settler ViolenceRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIThe Most Optimistic Israeli in Jerusalem Is Leaving the CountryAs Ground Invasion Looms, U.S. and Iran Want Wild-card Israel Out of the FightThe Original Ozempic Society of Ancient RomeBetween Messi and Milei: How Argentina Became Israel's Team at the World CupDemocrats Rejected U.S. Aid to Israel, and AIPAC Couldn't Stop Them'Choose Hope': Natalie Portman Backs Arab-Jewish Party Ahead of Israeli Election