Spain again In Argentina face each other on Sunday World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, marking the second meeting between the two teams in the history of the tournament, and the first in 60 years. Spain beat Argentina 1-0, and won their second World Cup title.
Both of these teams are among the eight countries that have lifted the world cup in the 96-year history of this competition.
Defending champions Argentina were looking to become the first country to win back-to-back World Cup titles since Brazil did so in 1958 and 1962.
The previous meeting between Spain and Argentina before Sunday was in the group stage of the 1966 World Cup. Argentina defeated Spain 2-1 and reached the quarterfinals before being eliminated by the hosts and eventual champions England. Spain did not make it out of the group stage.
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How many world cups has Argentina won?
La Albiceleste, a perennial contender, has won the World Cup three times, but has reached the final seven times.
Its first title came in 1978 on home soil as a host. At the time, the tournament had only 16 countries and used a different and different format where there was no knockout stage, and two teams went directly to the finals after finishing second in two consecutive group stages.
This led to one of the most infamous results in World Cup history. In order to reach the final, Argentina needed to beat Peru by four goals in their last group game, which they achieved in a stunning 6-0 victory over Peru. They then defeated the Netherlands 3-1 in extra time in Buenos Aires in the final.
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However, its match against Peru was marred by controversy over allegations that the then-ruling dictator, Jorge Rafael Videla, had entered the Peru changing room before the match and issued veiled threats to the Peruvian players.
Argentina's second title and arguably the most famous was the World Cup in Mexico in 1986. Led by the late Diego Maradona, Argentina beat West Germany 3-2 in the final.
But it was a quarterfinal match as well a rival who hated England will live with disappointment, a matchup that came just four years removed from the bloody Falklands War between the two countries.
Since the game was not scored at the beginning of the second half, Maradona jumped up to receive the ball in the penalty box by England's goalkeeper, Peter Shilton, and knocked Shilton down and into the goal with his left arm. The referee somehow missed an obvious handball, giving Argentina a 1-0 lead.
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Argentina went on to win the match 2-1 thanks to Maradona's stunning second goal. But when asked by reporters after the game about his handball, Maradona laughed loudly, “A little bit about Maradona's head and God's hand.”
Argentina have repeatedly shown that they are a thorn in England, knocking out the Three Lions in the 1998 World Cup in the round of 16 on penalties when England's David Beckham was sent off, and again in a spectacular fashion. it's Wednesday's semifinalwhen Maradona's heir appeared, the 39-year-old wonder Lionel Messi, rallied Argentina to win 2-1 in stoppage time to thwart England's World Cup dreams.
Argentina's third title came in Qatar in 2022 and marked the long-awaited coronation of Messi, who until then had received every imaginable accolade without success in international football. In that tournament, Argentina became the second team to ever win the World Cup after losing their first match in the group stage, when they were shocked by Saudi Arabia 2-1, which is one of the biggest setbacks in the history of the World Cup. The only team to do the same, ironically, is Spain, in 2010.
In what is widely considered to be the largest Always the World Cup final played, Argentina defeated France on penalties after a 3-3 draw in a dramatic game that saw French striker Kylian Mbappé score a hat trick, while Messi missed two goals.
If Argentina were to win their fourth title on Sunday, they would overtake Germany and Italy for second, and go behind leaders Brazil, who have five.
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How many world cups has Spain won?
La Roja won the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, their only semi-final before Sunday. However, Spain have been strong for decades, qualifying for 13 consecutive World Cups since 1978. Before its 2010 title, it had never advanced past the quarterfinals.
Spain has had a football renaissance since the mid-2000s, marred by an embarrassment of riches with the likes of Gerard Piqué, Sergio Ramos, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, David Villa and Sergio Busquets. Spain's World Cup title was also sandwiched between back-to-back European Championship titles in 2008 and 2012, marking one of the greatest stages in international football history.
As such, Spain's current team – which includes teen phenom Lamine Yamal and 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri – is often referred to as the second golden generation.
With Argentina finally crowned champions in 2022, Spain opened their 2010 tournament with a 1-0 loss to lowly Switzerland.
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Spain got out of the group stage with wins over Honduras and Chile. In the play-off round, they won all the games 1-0, knocking out Portugal, Paraguay and Germany.
In the final, Spain beat the Netherlands 1-0 thanks to Iniesta's goal in the 117th minute of extra time.
Spain became the first European team to win a World Cup that was not hosted on European soil.
It was the Messi-Yamal factor that made Sunday's final compelling
Sunday's final was full of history for these two football powerhouses.
The best in that department was the much-anticipated meeting between Messi and Yamal, who many youngsters believe is the only player who could possibly be worthy of taking the mantle from Messi as the greatest player of all time.
The Argentine legend is at the end of his career, and the rising Spanish right winger is less than half his age, but the pair have been inextricably linked for years.
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The final marks the first time Messi and Yamal have competed on the football field.
Messi may have played his final World Cup game on Sunday in his record sixth World Cup appearance, one of only two players to do so with Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo. Yamal turned 19 last week and was in his first World Cup.
A moment filled with an unusual circle for the couple, who have been connected since Yamal it was a child. In 2007, Messi cradled baby Yamal in his arms for a photo shoot as part of a charity calendar while with FC Barcelona, the club Messi called home for 17 seasons, and now young Yamal plays for.
Speaking to “60 Minutes” last year, Yamal described Messi as “the best in history.”
We both know I don't want to be Messi, and Messi knows I don't want to be him,” said Yamal. “I want to follow my own path, and that's it.”
