Lionel Messi and Argentina take on Lamine Yamal and Spain in the FIFA World Cup final. (AP)After over a month of breathtaking footballing action, we are finally down to two teams as Argentina and Spain will be vying for the crown in the New York New Jersey Stadium or the Metlife Stadium on Sunday night. Argentina are gunning for their fourth and Lionel Messi’s second World Cup title while Spain will be looking for their first title since 2010.Argentina and Spain were supposed to meet in March for the Finalissima where the European champions take on the world champions in an exhibition match but the clash at Doha was cancelled after Iranian strikes on American bases in middle eastern countries. Now, finally the much anticipated contest is taking place in the biggest stage imaginable.Story continues below this adArgentina vs Spain Football UpdatesLive UpdatesJul 20, 2026 12:31 AM ISTFIFA World Cup Final, Argentina vs Spain: Time for the national anthems!All right time for the national anthems. First comes Spain's 'Marcha Real' and then Argentina's 'Himno Nacional Argentino'. Now THAT is how you set the stage for the biggest football game of them all.Jul 20, 2026 12:28 AM ISTFIFA World Cup Final, Argentina vs Spain: The referee for the day...Is Slavko Vincic of Slovenia. He will be assisted by Tomaž Klancnik (Slovenia) and Andraž Kovacic (Slovenia). Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan) is the fourth official while the reserve assistant referee is Mohammad Al-Kalaf (Jordan). Vincic, of course, had a bit of a story to tell before his refereeing career took flight. READ MORE.Jul 20, 2026 12:25 AM ISTFIFA World Cup Final, Argentina vs Spain: Tom Cruise takes the micThe Hollywood superstar is here but before that, the trophy was shown to the crowd by Andres Iniesta, scorer of the winning goal for Spain in the 2010 World Cup final, and Mario Kempes, who scored twice in the 1978 World Cup final that Argentina won.Jul 20, 2026 12:15 AM ISTFIFA World Cup Final, Argentina vs Spain: The teamsThe lineups are out already and this is how they look:Spain: Unai Simon; Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Rodri, Fabian Ruiz; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Alex Baena; Mikel Oyarzabal.Subs: David Raya, Pubill, Grimaldo, E Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Gavi, Pino, J Garcia, Williams, Zubimendi, Pedri, Munoz, Iglesias.Argentina: Emiliano Martinez; Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Tagliafico; Enzo Fernandez; Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Nico Gonzalez; Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez.Subs: Musso, Senesi, Montiel, Barco, Lo Celso, Rulli, Palacios, Paredes, Almada, Simeone, Paz, Otamendi, Lopez, Lautaro Martinez, Medina.Jul 20, 2026 12:14 AM ISTFIFA World Cup Final, Argentina vs Spain: Hello and welcome!103 matches have been played across 16 venues in 16 cities across three countries and it has come down to this. Spain, who were ruling the roost between 2008 and 2014 are now back to the big leagues with a relatively young team. They are the reigning European champions and they are now looking to win the World Cup again. Argentina, on the other hand, are looking to become the first team in 64 years to succesfully defending the World Cup title. Last time it happened, it was Pele's Brazil. Could it be Messi's Argentina to do it now? Stay tuned for more updates.Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) dribbles between England's Anthony Gordon (18) and Harry Kane (9) during the World Cup semifinal soccer match in Atlanta on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)FIFA World Cup: Every plan to stop Messi has failed. Spain has one more shotYears later, it remains a regret for the legendary Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson. He couldn’t stop Lionel Messi in the Champions League finals, neither in 2009 nor in 2011. “You need centre-backs who are prepared to drop right on top of Messi and not worry about what is happening behind them,” he later wrote in his autobiography. “He’s less of a threat on the side than he is through the centre. When we play Barcelona next time in a Champions League final, I wasn’t going to let him torture us again,” he wrote. (READ MORE)© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd