Spain v Argentina in the World Cup final: the referee, the stats and the omens

Who is the referee?

Slavko Vincic becomes the first Slovene to referee a World Cup final. He oversaw the 2024 Champions League final at Wembley (Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0) as well as Spain’s 2-1 win over France at the 2024 Euros semi-final. The 46-year-old’s first World Cup match was Argentina’s opening loss to Saudi Arabia in 2022. At this tournament, Vincic showed Ecuador’s Piero Hincapié a red card for covering his mouth in the 95th minute against Mexico. He has averaged 2.33 yellow cards per game.

Advantage Spain?

Thirteen of the past 14 World Cup and European Championship finals – men’s and women’s – have been won by the side who played their semi-final first. On the other occasion the semi-finals were played on the same day. Spain’s men started the streak, beating Italy 4-0 in the final of Euro 2012. Argentina have also benefited, enjoying four days rest to France’s three going into the 2022 final. This time it is Spain who have had an extra day’s rest.

Staying away

No Argentinian president has attended a national team World Cup match for 36 years and the current one, Javier Milei, will be no exception. He has watched all seven games from his presidential residence, telling a Buenos Aires radio station there is “no way” he is travelling to New Jersey. The superstition dates back to 1990 when Carlos Menem visited the Argentina squad before their shock opening loss to Cameroon. The president’s attendance at a World Cup match has since been thought to bring bad luck to the team. Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, plans to attend the match and so does King Felipe VI.

History beckoning

An Argentina victory would make them the third country to win back-to-back World Cups and the first this century. Italy won in 1934 and 1938 and Brazil did so in 1958 and 1962. If Spain triumph, they would become the fourth men’s side to hold the Euros and the World Cup at the same time after West Germany (1972, 1974), France (1998, 2000) and Spain, who were the first men’s team in history to win three major titles in a row (Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup, Euro 2012).

Attack v defence?

Argentina have scored the most goals of any team (19) by some margin, with Spain in fourth on 14. But Spain have conceded the fewest goals (1), with Argentina letting in seven.

Rings for the winners

If four quarters and a half-time show wasn’t enough, the winners will be handed rings. Presenting rings has been common practice in the US since the 1922 World Series. There is money to be made, with 30 rings available for the world champions and a further 1,996 going on sale to the public. The design features a mini World Cup trophy on one side, while the other will “reflect the identity of the winning team”, as revealed on Fifa’s website. The victorious team’s players and coaches will be handed temporary rings to allow the bespoke rings to be customised and presented at a later date.

Cancelled Finalissima

The sides were scheduled to meet this year in the Finalissima in Qatar, with Argentina hoping to defend the trophy they won against Italy in 2022. However, the game was called off due to the war in the Middle East and Uefa said: “After much discussion between Uefa and the organising authorities in Qatar, we can announce that due to the current political situation in the region, the Finalissima cannot be played as hoped in Qatar on 27 March.” The two teams were unable to agree on an alternative option and the match was cancelled.

Who needs club coaching experience?

The final will be contested by two managers without any top-division experience at club level. Luis de la Fuente, who was dismissed after 11 games at third division Alavés, has been coaching Spain at various age groups since 2013. Lionel Scaloni has pretty much only managed the Argentinian national team – apart from six matches in charge of the Under-20s. Having already won the Euros, Copa América and World Cup between them, the pair have shown that elite club experience is not mandatory for international management.

Minutes on the pitch

Apart from the extra rest day, Spain may be fresher anyway having finished all of their games in 90 minutes. Argentina have played extra time twice and have logged 794 minutes compared with Spain’s 717. The South Americans faced similar circumstances in Qatar where they played an extra 30 minutes in the quarter-final. Will a squad largely four years older have enough energy in reserve?

Rare outdoor match for Spain

While temperatures are not expected to be unbearably high, the National Weather Service issued an air-quality alert due to wildfire smoke drifting from Canada. The New York Office of Emergency Management said that air-quality levels in the city had reached “very unhealthy” levels on Thursday, but conditions have improved significantly. Spain have been relatively protected from such environmental factors throughout their campaign, having played one of their seven matches in a fully outdoor stadium. Argentina have played outside three times, including two occasions where temperatures reached 32C.

World Cup history

The sides have played once at the tournament, Argentina winning 2-1 in 1966. Luis Artime scored both goals for the South Americans and you can read the Guardian’s report from the match here.