World Cup 2026

Oyarzabal has five goals at the tournament and is also La Roja’s penalty taker so looks a tempting price to get on the scoresheet. Argentina’s back line has hardly been rock-solid throughout the tournament, conceding seven times in their last five games

Lamine Yamal has committed a Spain-high 12 fouls this tournament and ten of these have come in his last three appearances. The Barcelona starlet has committed at least two fouls in each of these three games, and Argentina’s strategy is likely to involve attempting to break up play and disrupt the rhythm of the game.

Spain right-back Pedro Porro has been deadly in and around the box, having scored two goals from seven shots. The Tottenham ace continues to get forward and should be able to trouble the Argentina back four, who have conceded in five consecutive World Cup encounters.

Mac Allister has had a headed shot in Argentina’s four knockout matches to date. Mac Allister had a headed attempt blocked against Cape Verde, before working the goalkeeper with a header against Egypt. Mac Allister scored a header in the quarter-finals against Switzerland, and three of his four shots in that game were headers. His headed effort on target against England was the third straight knockout game in which he achieved that feat.

Tagliafico was on the receiving end of three fouls against England in the semi-finals and four against Switzerland in the previous round. The 33-year-old has been fouled in all six of his World Cup appearances (four starts) and has been fouled multiple times in four of those games.

Argentina made 15 tackles and committed 11 fouls in their 2-1 semi-final victory over England and that number is expected to rise in the final against Spain. La Seleccion’s physical approach was clear from the opening whistle against the Three Lions and manager Lionel Scaloni will no doubt look to disrupt Spain in the same way.

Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez has had multiple infringements in two of his side’s last three games, including three against England in the last four.

Spain midfielder Fabian Ruiz averages just under a shot per game at the World Cup and he’s been accurate, with two thirds of his attempts recorded as on target.

Lionel Messi is averaging 3.6 key passes per game in the tournament and he sits joint second in the World Cup assists chart with four in total. Messi created six shots against both Egypt and Switzerland and then four against England in the semi-finals.

Spain’s Alex Baena has been fouled six times across his last four games and was fouled twice in the semi-final win over France, he looks a contender to be on the receiving end of at least two infringements.

Lionel Messi has created 16 shots in total in Argentina’s knockout clashes with Egypt, Switzerland and England. Four or more is a big target against Spain but it is an achievable one for Argentina’s star man.

Mikel Oyarzabal is Spain’s leading scorer with five goals. The Real Sociedad striker is capable of at least forcing two saves, as he is averaging 1.7 shots per game either on target or off the woodwork at the World Cup.

Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez picked up his first booking of the competition against England but was perhaps lucky to avoid cards in the previous rounds as he had two fouls against both Egypt and Switzerland.

Spain’s Pedro Porro hasn’t been booked during the competition but he did receive 10 cards in the Premier League last season. He also is averaging 1.4 fouls per game at the World Cup and two or more fouls may be enough for a card in the final.

Spain have won all of their knockout games and have a reliable defence that has conceded just one goal over the course of the tournament. Argentina have shown a remarkable will to win as they have been dragged into extra time twice and have had to come from behind twice during the knockout stages, but their luck may well run out against this well-drilled Spanish outfit. However, with four of the last five finals going to extra-time, Spain are backed to lift the trophy by any means.

The previous two World Cup finals have seen 12 goals scored in total, and the Spanish have scored eight goals in total across their four games so far. Argentina have seen BTTS land in their last five matches at the tournament. With that in mind, back at least a couple of goals in New Jersey.

Referees have been busy in recent World Cup finals, with at least three bookings being shown in each of the previous five. The 2022 final saw seven bookings, while Argentina (14) and Spain (13) have drawn more bookings than any other teams at this tournament.

Only France have taken more shots from distance than Spain, and Lamine Yamal leads all Spain players with 11 shots from distance.

Messi has taken more shots from outside the penalty area than any player at this World Cup, and he’s backed for another effort on target from deep against a Spanish side that tends to restrict opposition touches within their own box.

The Golden Boot is still a target for Kylian Mbappe and he can boost his chances of beating Lionel Messi to the award by scoring against England. Mbappe has eight goals at this World Cup so far, and he’ll look to profit if England aren’t up to scratch in this contest.

Kone’s absence in the semi-finals looks like a mistake, and Deschamps brought him on for the second half in place of Adrien Rabiot. He had started four of the previous five matches, recording shots on target against Paraguay and Norway.

Rogers has been booked 17 times across his last two Premier League campaigns, and he committed two fouls in each of his two starts at this tournament. Third-place games don’t tend to shy away from cards, so he stands out in that market.

Konsa should return to the starting lineup after drawing 11 fouls across England’s first five matches. He can continue his stellar record of drawing fouls internationally. In 14 competitive appearances as a centre-half for England, he’s been fouled 31 times, drawing at least two fouls on 11 occasions.