Messi assessed Argentina's chances in the World Cup final against Spain
Argentina national team forward Lionel Messi shared his expectations for the 2026 World Cup final against Spain. According to the Argentine captain, the decisive match will be evenly matched and extremely tense.
“This is a great team with outstanding players and a well-defined style of play. I know the players; I’ve played against many of them and continue to follow them. It will be a special, very evenly matched game,” Messi said.
The Argentine also noted that the tournament in the U.S. began for Argentina amid “a lot of doubts and criticism,” but he himself had no doubt from the very beginning that they would achieve a respectable result.
“I was confident that we would make it to at least the top four. We came here as world champions; we’ve been the best team in the world for the past four years, and we’ve proven it once again on the field: no one gives us anything for free, and we’re back in the final,” Messi emphasized.
The World Cup final between Spain and Argentina will take place on Sunday, July 19. The game will begin at 10:00 p.m. Kyiv time.
As a reminder, the Spanish national team became the first finalist of the 2026 World Cup after defeating France in the semifinal.
Spain’s forward Mikel Oyarzabal tied the national team’s record for the most goals scored in a single World Cup tournament. The forward’s achievement was set following the 2026 World Cup semifinal match.
