Eight years after Isco’s hat-trick buried Argentina 6-1 in Madrid, Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal collide in the biggest match either nation has ever played against each other
Back in March 2018, a Messi-less Argentina walked into the Wanda Metropolitano and left with the worst kind of wake-up call. Spain put six goals past them without reply from Nicolas Otamendi, with Isco running riot and Diego Costa marking his international return in style. It was a friendly — low stakes, high embarrassment — and nobody inside that stadium could have known it would take eight years for these two nations to meet again, this time with the World Cup itself on the line.
Sunday’s Spain vs Argentina final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, kicks off at 3 p.m. ET, broadcast on FOX and Fox One, with Telemundo and Peacock carrying the Spanish-language call — and it marks the first World Cup final these two nations have ever contested. The gulf between a throwaway friendly and football’s ultimate prize has never felt wider, and the players who’ll define this one weren’t even sharing a pitch back in 2018.
How Spain Tore Argentina Apart in Madrid
Diego Costa’s Early Goal Set the Tone
Spain wasted no time. In the 12th minute, an Argentine giveaway deep in their own half found Marco Asensio, who slipped in Costa. The striker bundled his way between Fabricio Bustos and goalkeeper Sergio Romero to force it home — a collision significant enough that Romero couldn’t continue, replaced by Willy Caballero. It marked the perfect return for Costa, completing his reintegration after a difficult autumn following his Chelsea departure, and left Spain looking sharper than an Argentina side that had already wasted a golden chance through Gonzalo Higuain.
Isco’s Hat-Trick Turned It Into a Rout
Fifteen minutes later, Isco rifled a right-footed finish past Caballero off an Asensio pass to make it 2-0 — the first of three near-identical moments of composure. His second arrived in the 52nd minute, latching onto a pass from substitute Iago Aspas, before his third in the 74th minute rounded out the scoring off another Aspas assist. Three goals, three different creators, zero hesitation.
Argentina Collapsed Without Messi
The scoreline told only half the story. Lionel Messi watched from the stands with a hamstring strain, while Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Maria were also out injured — leaving Argentina unable to stop Spain rather than unable to create. Nicolas Otamendi headed in a consolation before halftime, but Spain answered instantly after the break, scoring twice in three minutes through Thiago Alcantara and Aspas, exposing a defensive line that simply wasn’t built to survive the night. What read at the time as a squad finding its footing before Russia now looks like a footnote — a data point from a rivalry that had barely begun, between two teams since rebuilt almost entirely.
Everything Has Changed Since Then — Except the Stakes
Neither side that walks out on Sunday resembles the one from 2018. Messi, now 39, is playing what’s widely expected to be his final World Cup, and will share a pitch with 19-year-old Lamine Yamal for the first time in either man’s career — a meeting that feels like it’s been building for two decades, ever since their families crossed paths at a photo shoot years before either was a household name.
Spain reached the final by dismantling France 2-0, with Mikel Oyarzabal converting a penalty after Yamal won it, and Pedro Porro adding a second before Unai Simon completed the clean sheet. The win stretched Spain’s unbeaten run to 37 matches — a national record, tying Italy’s mark for the longest streak in international football.
Argentina’s path was rockier. Trailing England 1-0 late in their semifinal, Messi set up two goals in seven minutes — Enzo Fernandez levelling before Lautaro Martinez struck in stoppage time — capping a knockout run already built on comebacks against Egypt and Switzerland.
The Trophy Cabinets on the Line
Spain is chasing just its second World Cup title, having beaten the Netherlands in extra time back in 2010 — the only previous final they’ve ever reached. Argentina, by contrast, is making their seventh trip to a World Cup final and their third in the past four tournaments, hunting a fourth star after triumphs in 1978, 1986, and most recently 2022 in Qatar. A win would make them the first nation to defend the World Cup since Brazil managed it back-to-back in 1958 and 1962.
The Bigger Picture Heading Into Sunday
Whatever happens at MetLife Stadium, Sunday closes a loop that started with a forgettable friendly in Madrid back in 2018. That 6-1 scoreline told everyone Spain had serious quality building toward Russia — it just didn’t yet know it was building toward this. Now, with Messi likely playing his final World Cup match and Yamal stepping into the role of Spain’s next great generational talent, this final carries a weight no previous meeting between these two nations ever has. One team lifts the trophy on Sunday; the other spends years wondering what might have been.
