Spain becomes world champion by defeating Messi's Argentina

Spain has become the champion of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. By defeating Argentina 1-0 in the final match, Spain concluded the tournament with the trophy.

With this result, Spain celebrated its second championship in World Cup history. Argentina, meanwhile, finished the tournament in second place following their defeat in the final.

BOTH TEAMS MADE CHANGES TO THEIR STARTING LINEUPS

In the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, Argentina national team head coach Lionel Scaloni made 3 changes to his starting 11, while Spain's Luis de la Fuente kept the same squad that played in the semi-final.

In the final of the tournament, which featured 48 countries for the first time in history and lasted 39 days, Spain and Argentina faced off at the 80,000-capacity New York New Jersey Stadium.

For Argentina, who took the field aiming for their second consecutive and fourth overall championship, head coach Scaloni gave the nod to Gonzalo Montiel at right-back in place of Nahuel Molina.

The experienced coach also started the match with Rodrigo De Paul and Nico Gonzalez in midfield, replacing Leandro Paredes and Giuliano Simeone.

Spain national team head coach De la Fuente kept the same lineup that defeated France 2-0 in the semi-final.

YAMAL AND CUBARSI MAKE HISTORY

Lamine Yamal (19 years, 6 days) and Pau Cubarsi (19 years, 178 days) became the third and fourth youngest players in history to start a World Cup final.

Previously in tournament history, the legendary Brazilian Pele started a final match at 17 years and 249 days, while Italian Giuseppe Bergomi was 18 years and 201 days old.

20-YEAR AGE GAP BETWEEN MESSI AND YAMAL

Key players in the championship clash between Spain and Argentina, Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal, made tournament history with the age gap between them.

While Argentine Messi turned 39 last month, 19-year-old Yamal celebrated his birthday during the tournament.

This was the first World Cup final in tournament history where players with an age difference of more than 20 years played in the starting lineups of the teams competing in the final.

MESSI BECOMES SECOND PLAYER TO PLAY IN 3 FINALS

39-year-old Lionel Messi became the second player after Brazil's Cafu (1994, 1998, 2002) to play in 3 World Cup finals.

If Messi had scored, he would have become the sixth male player to score in two World Cup finals. Previously, Vava (1958, 1962), Pele (1958, 1970), Paul Breitner (1974, 1982), Zinedine Zidane (1998, 2006), and Kylian Mbappe (2018, 2022) had achieved this.

The Argentine player, who found the net 8 times, ranks second in this tournament behind Frenchman Kylian Mbappe, who scored 10 goals.

In terms of total World Cup goals, Mbappe has 22 and Messi has 21.

Mbappe won the Golden Boot award in 2022.

MESSI IS THE OLDEST OUTFIELD PLAYER TO PLAY IN A FINAL

39-year-old Lionel Messi became the oldest outfield player to play in a World Cup final.

The Argentine player surpassed Swede Gunnar Gren, who played against Brazil in 1958 at the age of 37.

The title of the oldest footballer to play in a World Cup final is held by 40-year-old Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff.

CLOSING CEREMONY HELD BEFORE THE BIG FINAL

Before the match, the closing ceremony of the tournament, co-hosted by the USA, Mexico, and Canada, was held.

World-famous artist Post Malone took the stage at the ceremony, which began at 20.30 TSI.