The 2026 FIFA World Cup final will see defending champions Argentina take on former winners Spain in a historic clash between the reigning champions of South America and Europe, a first in the men's World Cup final.
Spain are chasing their second World Cup title, 16 years after their maiden triumph, while Argentina are bidding to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to retain the trophy.
The finalists have taken contrasting routes to the title match. Since an opening-game draw with Cape Verde, Spain have won six straight matches, conceding just once throughout the tournament. Their six clean sheets are a World Cup single-edition record, and they shut out France 2-0 in the semi-finals after a 649-minute streak without conceding before Belgium's Charles De Ketelaere finally found the net in the quarter-finals.
Argentina, meanwhile, have not kept a clean sheet in their last five games but have been devastating in attack, scoring at least twice in every match. Their tournament-leading 19 goals are the highest ever by an Argentine side at a single World Cup.
Spain head into the final unbeaten in 37 matches since March 2024. Victory would see them set a new record for the longest unbeaten run in men's international football.
Argentina, meanwhile, are aiming to make history by becoming the first nation to win four consecutive major international trophies, following their 2021 Copa América, 2022 World Cup, and 2024 Copa América triumphs.
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With a gripping final on the horizon, here are some interesting facts about the FIFA World Cup trophy for which the two teams will be competing for:
- The current version of the World Cup trophy came into existence in 1974. The previous version of the football World Cup trophy was called the Jules Rimet trophy. Brazil took permanent ownership of the Jules Rimet Trophy in 1970, after becoming the first nation to win the World Cup three times.
- The World Cup trophy has been designed by Italian artist Silvio Gazzaniga.
- The World Cup trophy is 36 centimetres tall and cast in 18-carat gold and weighs exactly 6.142 kg. The trophy depicts two human figures lifting Planet Earth
- The original FIFA World Cup trophy is kept at the FIFA's headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. After every final, the winning team is presented the original trophy during the presentation ceremony. However after the ceremony and the celebrations are done, a replica of the FIFA World Cup trophy especially minted for that year's tournament is given to the winning team which then is retained by the football association of that country.
- The only time an individual has ever received an official version.was when Nelson Mandela was presented the notable replica of the iconic trophy ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
- A new bottom disk is produced after each tournament which displays the name of the winning team of that year's edition of the World Cup.
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