World Cup final predicted lineups: How will Argentina, Spain line up?

It's hard to believe, but the 2026 World Cup ends on Sunday, but it goes out with a bang as Argentina and Spain are set to face off in an incredibly intriguing tactical chess match with the world's greatest prize on the line.

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By this point of the tournament, we know exactly what each of these sides wants to do, but as always there will still be one or two decisions for the managers that are specific to Sunday's opponent.

For instance, will Lionel Scaloni go with old faithful, Rodrigo De Paul, to round out his brutish midfield, or will he once again pick the (slightly) more attacking, pacier Giuliano Simeone? De Paul got the call in five of Argentina's first six games, earning a rest in the final group game after winning the first two. Simeone's selection against England was a bit of a surprise, but perhaps Scaloni wanted to neutralize Engalnd's left flank with the threat of Messi and Simeone overloading Djed Spence and Anthony Gordon. It's hardly a direct correlation, but England scored their goal with Simeone on the field and Argentina got theirs after De Paul came on in the 72nd minute.

On the other side, will Luis de la Fuente stick with Alex Baena on the left wing, or might he roll the dice and pick Nico Williams, who would have likely been the starter all World Cup due to thigh and groin injuries prior to the tournament? He's only played 63 minutes so far, but his direct attacking style would be the biggest threat to Argentina's dogged (but not exactly quick) backline that has been beaten at least once in every knockout game.

Argentina predicted XI vs Spain

— E. Martinez —

— Molina — Romero — L. Martinez — Tagliafico —

— Paredes —

— De Paul — Fernandez — Mac Allister —

— Messi — Alvarez —

Spain predicted XI vs Argentina

— Oyarzabal —

— Baena — Olmo — Yamal —

— Ruiz — Rodri —

— Cucurella — Laporte — Cubarsi — Porro —

— Simon —

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