Spain and Argentina meet in New York to dance the 2026 World Cup final in Spanish

"Por la mañana café, por la tarde, gol." Argentina look to defend their crown, add a fourth star and make Spain dance to Messi’s tango, while La Roja dream of another South Africa and making Scaloni’s men dance Rodri’s sevillanas. The dancefloor is already prepared. Argentina and Spain have arranged to meet to try to make their rival dance to the other’s rhythm this Sunday 19 July at 5pm (local time),9pm (Madrid) and 4pm (Buenos Aires). Messi against Rodri, milanesa against paella, tango against flamenco. It is the first time in history that the reigning Copa América champions (and world champions) face the reigning European champions. This Sunday they share the floor with the world crown at stake. One team moves to the beat of improvisation and sheer flair; the other prefers to set the tempo, count the beats and never lose the rhythm. Nueva Yol Both sides knew that, to have fun, as Bad Bunny says, with charm and finesse, you have to come to New York. Spain reached the final with a measured tempo, almost like a dance academy routine: 2-0 against France, a penalty from Oyarzabal and a finish from Porro right at the start of the second half, without a single misstep. Argentina, by contrast, threw itself into a milonga danced on the edge of the abyss. They were losing to England until the 85th minute, drew level through Enzo Fernández and turned it around in stoppage time with Lautaro Martínez, after a Messi pass that was pure flourish. The Argentine tango, once again, was saved on the final turn. The numbers confirm that each team dances to its own tune. Argentina arrive as the most prolific attack in the tournament: 19 goals, all about sudden bursts and twists of the hips. Spain come in as the meanest defence, with only one goal conceded, the discipline of a side that never loses the beat. If Argentina win, they would be the first team to retain the title since Brazil in the 1950s, and Messi would be dancing in his third World Cup final, something only Brazil’s Cafu had achieved before.If Spain win, they would sew on their second star 16 years after South Africa, this time without the vertigo of 2010 and with Rodri dictating the tempo from midfield. Because both teams have taught us how to love and how to dance. 'Baile inolvidable' Luis de la Fuente does not seem willing to change the steps that brought him this far: Unai Simón in goal; Porro, Cubarsí, Laporte and Cucurella forming the back line; Rodri and Fabián Ruiz keeping the rhythm in the centre; and up front, Dani Olmo, Álex Baena and Lamine Yamal dancing around Oyarzabal. The problem is that the youngest dancer in the team comes in with a fitness doubt. Yamal missed the last training session with a bandage on his left thigh after a knock in the semi-final against France. For now, nothing serious, more precaution than anything else, but the image was enough to unsettle the entire Spanish camp three days before the most important dance of his career. Scaloni, on the other side, has his line-up almost decided: Dibu Martínez between the posts; Molina (or Montiel), Romero, Lisandro Martínez and Tagliafico at the back; De Paul, Paredes, Enzo Fernández and Mac Allister in midfield; and up front, the strike partnership that has understood each other for years without needing to look: Messi and Julián Álvarez. The 2026 World Cup ends with a clash between an unstoppable force and an immovable object. These football occasions are parties that one day come to an end and, for many, this has been an unforgettable dance. The referee, the luxury tourist If there is anyone capable of changing the tempo of this final, it is Slovenian Slavko Vincic, the referee appointed by FIFA to take charge of the match. At 46 and with more than 16 seasons at the top level in Europe, he brings a résumé that commands respect: he officiated the 2024 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, and the 2022 Europa League final between Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers. In this World Cup he has already refereed three matches, including Mexico–Ecuador, the performance that finally convinced FIFA to entrust him with the showpiece final. For Argentines, his name does not exactly bring back fond memories.He was the referee for that Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia that opened Qatar 2022 with the biggest shock of the tournament, a match in which VAR ruled out one goal for Messi and two for Lautaro Martínez. For Spaniards, the freshest memory is another: Camavinga’s sending-off for Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final against Bayern, a decision that, for many, did not make for a pretty picture. He will be accompanied by his compatriots Tomaz Klancnik and Andrz Kovacic as assistants, with Jordanian Adham Makhadmeh as fourth official. If something goes wrong, it will be Vincic who decides whether the party keeps playing or the music is cut. And more than a few will be humming that we should have taken more pictures from when we still had the World Cup.