The feverish atmosphere around the FIFA World Cup 2026 final reached fever pitch Sunday as thousands of Argentinian fans plastered Times Square with a sea of blue and white ahead of an eagerly awaited clash against Spain.
Just hours before the game opened at New York New Jersey Stadium in Manhattan, Argentina fans were gathered in the United States and around the world at one of the world’s most famous public venues to celebrate their team’s remarkable journey to the final. The atmosphere was football-carnival-style; the players wore Argentine flags, sang old songs, beat drums, and wore the national team’s jerseys.
Lionel Messi, the great captain who has led the way for generations of football fans across the world, was at the heart of all the celebrations. The loudest cheers in Times Square were for Messi, as fans expressed hope that Argentina can deliver the World Cup title they won four years ago. Photos were taken, people danced in the street, and a crowd that turned out to be tourists and football fans had their eyes on him.
The 2026 final has even more significance as it is the first World Cup final with the South American and European champions in line. Argentina came into the tournament as the defending world champions, and Spain as the current European champions, and both were set up for a clash of the greatest football nations of all time.
TIMES SQUARE HAS TURNED INTO BUENOS AIRES! 🇦🇷🔥
— Culture Stacked (@CultureStacked) July 19, 2026
Argentina fans have completely taken over New York! pic.twitter.com/6jkXEzR5dq
Argentina have a chance to write their names into football history. A victory over Spain would make La Albiceleste only the third country to successfully defend a FIFA World Cup title. The only countries that have done it before are Italy, which won the tournament in 1934 and 1938, and Brazil, which won the title in 1958 and 1962.
Argentina has been through a lot of drama, fightback and never-say-die at the final. At the end of the round-of-32 match, they won 2-1 in extra time against Cape Verde to make it through to the final. They then had a strong performance against Switzerland in the quarter-finals.
One of the most dramatic moments of their tournament was in the Round of 16 against Egypt. Argentina had to fight back from 2-0 down and won 3-2. England was also in the semi-final, and they had to fight back and get over 1-0 again to claim a dramatic 2-1 victory and win the championship.
Spain, meanwhile, looked as dominant as everyone else in the knockout rounds. La Roja began with a convincing 3-0 win over Austria and then won narrowly 1-0 against Portugal and Belgium. Their best performance was in the semi-final, where they put on a dominant performance to defeat one of the tournament favourites, France, and reach their second World Cup final.
The longstanding rivalry of the two countries adds one more dimension to the game. Argentina and Spain last met in an international friendly on March 27th, 2018, when Spain won 6-1 against Argentina. The rivalry has been relatively balanced between the two nations in the last 14 meetings, with each team winning 6 games and two ending in draws.
As kick-off day approaches, anticipation is building in New York and around the world. Argentina is hungry to make it onto the history books, and Spain just wants to win another World Cup crown to build on their football history. The 2026 final of the FIFA World Cup will be a match between two football giants.
For millions of Argentinian fans celebrating in Times Square, there is only one dream in the world of football - to see Lionel Messi lift the World Cup again and cement Argentina’s place among football’s greatest dynasties.
