This is not usually the case in football. But the 2026 World Cup happened as if someone had written the script before the tournament even started. Otherwise, the world's No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams would not have met in the final. Moreover, the Copa America champion and the European champion would not have entered the title match. And the greatest player in world football of all time, Lionel Messi, would not have had the opportunity to perform another magical performance.

The biggest World Cup ever has been reduced from 48 teams to two teams. On Monday morning, defending champions Argentina and Spain are playing against each other at the New York-New Jersey Stadium for the decisive match. When the semi-finals arrived, it was clear that France was the strongest team to win the title this time, and England was also about to play the final for the first time in 6 decades.

Argentina and Spain reached the final, defying all those possibilities. This will be the last match that a true football fan dreams of. First of all, we have to go back four years ago, when Argentina was defeated by Saudi Arabia in their first match. After just one match, everyone started saying that Messi would not be able to do anything anymore, nor would his team Argentina. What happened next became a great story for world football. Argentina eventually won that World Cup. Messi was the best player in every sense. He had the opportunity to stop there. But no, he did not stop, he insisted on playing another World Cup. He turned 39 during this World Cup. 

His best fans were afraid that this tournament would not happen to him? But no, that did not happen. Writing the story of their magnificent comeback victory one after the other, Argentina has reached the final for the second time in a row. 

Now this team has the opportunity to win the World Cup title for the second time in a row after Brazil. Brazil achieved such a feat in 1958 and 1962. But this is an old story. Messi and Argentina have an opportunity to create history for a new generation. 

The final challenge facing Argentina is no less than Spain. Spain is different from Argentina in many ways, so the final will be special. Argentina's power depends on Messi. They have a whole team ready to play for them. Messi has already scored 8 goals in this process. Especially the way Argentina has made a comeback in the knockout stages against Egypt and England. It shows that this team does not know how to lose and this team has full confidence in itself. Now Argentina is not a team limited to Messi alone. 

In short, Argentina is a team that knows how to play aggressive football. It is also adept at scoring goals. Argentina itself is a team that is not without accusations that some decisions have been made to benefit them. But based on the journey Argentina has made so far, such accusations do not have much force. Even if they are opponents of this team, they should not hesitate to spend a few words of praise. 

The final challenge facing Argentina is no less than Spain. Spain is different from Argentina in many ways, so the final will be special. Spain, which won the World Cup in 2010, had won the European title before and after it. Even now, the same team is playing the final as European champions once again. It is safe to say that history will not repeat itself. 

As European champions, Spain has every chance of winning the World Cup once again. The main feature of the Spanish team is that it is not a team that relies on one player. Nor should it claim to have done much by scoring many goals. It enjoys playing as much as it can in the midfield and is satisfied with winning the game by scoring just one goal. In fact, its strength lies in the midfield. 

It was this midfield that forced France to remain silent in the semifinals. What more can we say about Spain's defense, it has only conceded one goal in the entire tournament. The last time Spain won the World Cup, its playing style was very popular, 'Tikita'. Spain is still playing almost like this. At the center of it is Rodri, an expert in playing passes. Moreover, Spain has not lost in all competitions for 37 games. This trend began in March 2024.