For years, there used to only be one certainty about the World Cup final: it would be a dour game.The last time Spain reached the men’s global showpiece in 2010, La Roja battled out a grim 1–0 victory over the Netherlands. “It wasn’t a nice game of pretty football,” the Dutch midfielder Mark van Bommel admitted. “But which final is?” He had a point.Between 1990 and 2014, the seven World Cup finals proved to be invariably drab affairs. In six of those showpieces, only one team scored and four put spectators through the pain of extra time. Even France’s 4–2 win over Croatia in 2018 was a match with a deceptive scoreline: There was never any jeopardy for Les Bleus.The 2022 World Cup final emphatically broke the mould. An unhinged encounter saw Argentina and France exchange blows in a six-goal ding-dong spearheaded by the star players on either side.Will the 2026 showpiece follow that pattern or prove it to just be a freak anomaly? Sports Illustrated’s soccer team has tried to answer this impossible question.Roberto CasillasSpain 3–2 Argentina (AET)Spain is preparing for a first World Cup final in 16 years. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports IllustratedSpain enter the final as the consensus best all-around team of the 2026 World Cup, dominating with a clear style and a wealth of not only talented players but cohesive cogs in a well-oiled machine. But major tournament finals are often decided by who manages to dominate the emotional weight of the unparalleled pressure, and Argentina is unrivaled in that context.The game will most likely be played according to La Roja’s script, but as the reigning champion has made it crystal clear, miracles are often on the menu. Argentina will once again come from behind to make it a game late, but unlike the rest of La Albiceleste’s recent victims, Spain has the maturity and resilience to get up from the canvas and weather the storm. La Roja’s harmonious ensemble will eventually prove too much to handle for a flawed Argentina side, outlasting the champion in extra time of a thrilling World Cup final. James CormackSpain 2–1 ArgentinaHe couldn’t, could he? Argentina entered the World Cup bereft of hype, yet having relentlessly flirted with elimination throughout the knockout stages, the team is suddenly 90 minutes away. A level of immortality achieved by so few athletes beckons for Lionel Messi. His teammates will offer their souls, and Messi’s forays to the right flank are a cheat code yet to be patched.However, a team that defies logic and reason is set to be denied by the mechanical brilliance of Spain, who has wonderfully eased its way into the tournament and is peaking at the optimal moment. Argentina’s vigor means control will be harder to attain, but they will not retreat once a lead is established.Toby CudworthSpain 2–1 Argentina (AET)O.K., so we didn’t get Mbappé vs. Messi II in the World Cup final, but we have got Yamal vs. Messi—and there is no better stage for the passing of the torch from the present to the future. Spain has been unbelievably controlled, Argentina chaotic, determined and inspired all at the same time. Do I expect more of the same? Absolutely. Only this time Lady Luck may run out for Argentina, with an absorbing match going Spain’s way after the full 120-plus minutes on offer.Rich FaySpain 2–0 ArgentinaLionel Messi (right) is Argentina’s orchestrator-in-chief. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports IllustratedRemarkably, two teams that failed to beat Cape Verde in 90 minutes are now battling to become world champion—but that is the beauty of the World Cup.Spain set the standard by brushing aside France in the semifinals, while Argentina has shown tremendous resilience by overcoming several difficult moments on its road to the final.Argentina thrives in chaos and can produce moments of brilliance when games become unpredictable, but Spain excels at controlling the tempo and draining the life out of its opponents. If you have Messi, you always have a chance—but only if you can get him the ball.It is difficult to look beyond the European champion adding a second star to its shirts on Sunday.Tom GottSpain 1–0 ArgentinaThe 2026 World Cup final is only the second competitive clash between Spain and Argentina. | FIFA/Getty ImagesSpain’s performance in the semifinals against France has forced something of a rethink. Even up against the best of the best, Luis de la Fuente’s side produced the sort of enduring dominance that makes a team pretty hard to ignore at this point in the summer.Is Argentina a better side than France? The players’ never-say-die attitudes are on another level, that’s for sure, but the chaos that has willed Lionel Scaloni’s side through recent games may be about to run out. Spain is all about control and will seek to ensure Sunday’s final does not descend into the sort of madness that may give Argentina a chance.Andrew HeadspeathSpain 3–0 ArgentinaArgentina is a team built around Lionel Messi, Spain is just a team. While the defending champion has relied on edge-of-your-seat comebacks throughout the knockouts, La Roja has been in cruise control. If Spain’s imperious midfield start up that passing carousel, it’s hard to see Argentina getting much of a toehold.This feels like the end of an era for Messi and Co. but for Spain you’d imagine this could run and run. A worthy champion.Amanda LangellSpain 2–1 ArgentinaThe script writes itself. pic.twitter.com/yoWWvlXUTd— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) July 15, 2026No team has won back-to-back World Cup titles in the 21st century, and it’s hard to picture this Argentina side breaking the trend. For all of Messi’s brilliance and the team’s improbable comebacks, La Albiceleste do not have the quality needed to get past Spain. Scaloni’s side barely defeated Cabo Verde, needed some favorable refereeing decisions to survive Egypt and Switzerland and then Thomas Tuchel’s shocking late-game tactics gifted a win against England.It’s hard to imagine there’s any luck left for the defending world champion. La Roja has the better defense, the better midfield and the best right winger in the world on its side. They also have the confidence of getting past Portugal and France en route to the final, and will not balk at the task of dispatching one more Goliath before getting their hands on the golden trophy.Ewan Ross-MurraySpain 2–0 ArgentinaThere is an inevitability about this Argentina team, who keep producing unexpected sorcery via Messi and its never-say-die attitude. Much like the first half of the semifinal with England, La Albiceleste will likely look to disrupt Spain early doors by flying into challenges, hoping it can outlast and outmuscle De la Fuente’s well-oiled machine. However, this should be a step too far for the defending world champion, who has surely used up all of its lives en route to the final. Spain’s composed demolition of France in the previous round was quite the statement, and no amount of South American fire will knock the 2024 European champion off course. La Roja should clinch a second world title by starving Argentina of possession and picking its moments to go for the kill.Jamie SpencerSpain 3–0 ArgentinaMake no mistake, Argentina had it easy to get to the final compared to Spain and almost messed it up several times. That doggedness to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat commands respect, but then Spain is a step above England in terms of technical quality, composure and winning pedigree.Spain has conceded only once in seven matches, driven more by an ability to keep the ball away from opponents than any kind of defensive dominance. If Messi barely gets a kick, as England managed to do for an hour of the semifinal before willfully inviting him into the contest, it’s difficult to see Argentina laying a glove on Spain. Then it’s all about what Lamine Yamal and Co. can do against a flimsy Argentine defense that has conceded six times in four knockout matches alone.Ben SteinerSpain 1–2 Argentina (AET)Facundo Medina is hoping Argentina can overcome Spain. | Hector Vivas/FIFA/Getty ImagesThis Argentine side seems to have an overwhelming ability to simply not lose. Yes, it never makes it easy on itself, but the way it has pulled out victories has made for a near-unparalleled run in World Cup history.Spain is the better team; I have no doubts about that, but luck just seems to be on La Albiceleste’s side these days. Messi has four goals in five games at MetLife Stadium, where he’s won a Copa América semifinal and will have dreams of extinguishing his heartbreak from the 2016 Copa América final, a penalty shootout loss to Chile at the venue.I’m leaning toward the prophecy side of things too. If Lamine Yamal is going to mirror Messi’s career, shouldn’t he have to lose his first World Cup final, like Messi did in 2014 against Germany?Sophia VeselySpain 1–2 Argentina (AET)We talk about Spain being a machine this summer, so steady, so composed, so consistent to the point that it’s nearly boring to watch them play. Is Spain the best team in the world right now? Yes, unarguably. But if it’s consistency that brings a team across the finish line, then here’s some food for thought. Argentina has been equally consistent this summer. Consistently scrappy. Consistently staring down the exit door before performing a miraculous 180 degree turn.Perhaps I just crave a bit more drama in Sunday’s final, but you must admit that by the fourth near-death experience for Argentina in this knockout stage, you start to reframe the question. It’s no longer, “When will the luck run out?” but rather, “What will this team do next?”There is a fine line between luck and fate, and this team just crossed itGrey WhitebloomSpain 1–0 ArgentinaSpain booked a spot in its second ever World Cup final. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated“Nothing scares me of what is coming ahead,” Spain’s perennially confident De la Fuente beamed at a bizarre pre-World Cup final press conference without any press. “Well, one thing,” he suddenly thought. “We came by helicopter and have to return with helicopter. That worries me.”Even with Messi, that trip through the New York City sky may prove to be De la Fuente’s biggest concern even after the World Cup final.READ THE LATEST WORLD CUP NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FCAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow