24 Hours to the Final: The Officials, the Fitness Calls, the XIs

By the eve of a World Cup final the big questions have all been asked. The tactical previews are written, the odds have stopped moving much, and both managers have said a version of the same thing about respect and about the occasion. What is left in the last 24 hours is smaller, and usually more decisive: who is refereeing, who is genuinely fit, and which names quietly drop out of the projected eleven.

Here is what actually changed in the day before Spain face Argentina at MetLife Stadium, and what it is reasonable to expect from it.

A first: Slovenia gets the World Cup final

FIFA appointed Slavko Vincic to referee the final, making him the first Slovenian to take charge of one and, by FIFA's own count, the 23rd official in the history of the fixture. He works with two compatriots on the lines, Tomaz Klancnik and Andraz Kovacic, with Jordan's Adham Makhadmeh as fourth official.

It is his fourth appointment of this tournament. He had Brazil against Morocco and Jordan against Algeria in the group stage, then Mexico against Ecuador in the round of 32 - a steady climb rather than a surprise elevation. Vincic is an experienced European referee who tends to let contact go and reaches for cards later than some of his colleagues, which matters in a final likely to be decided in midfield congestion.

The fitness picture: one scare, one return

Spain's only real concern came at the end of the semi-final against France, when Lamine Yamal was seen limping as the game closed out. Luis de la Fuente played it down immediately afterwards, and the teenager is expected to start. Spain also have Nico Williams available again after missing earlier stages of the tournament through injury, which gives de la Fuente a genuine alternative on the left rather than a like-for-like reshuffle.

Argentina came through their semi-final without a new injury, which is not nothing given how that match finished.

The two names missing from the projected XIs

The projected line-ups are more interesting for who is absent than who is present. Spain are expected in a 4-3-3 with Mikel Oyarzabal leading the line, Yamal and Alex Baena wide, and a midfield of Rodri, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Olmo. That midfield leaves out Pedri - a decision, not an injury, and the clearest signal of how Spain intend to play: control through Rodri, with Olmo higher and more direct than Pedri would be.

Argentina are also projected in a 4-3-3, with Messi central in a front three alongside Julian Alvarez and Giuliano Simeone, and a midfield of Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister. Rodrigo De Paul, one of the most consistent presences of Argentina's last decade, is outside that projection. If both calls hold, the final is being set up as a midfield contest between Rodri's positional control and the running of Enzo and Mac Allister.

What the semi-finals actually told us

It is worth being precise about how the two teams arrived, because the shorthand is already drifting. Spain beat France 2-0 in Dallas. Argentina beat England 2-1 in Atlanta - and they did it in normal time, not extra time, despite how it is sometimes described. Anthony Gordon put England ahead in the 55th minute, Enzo Fernandez equalised in the 85th, and Lautaro Martinez headed the winner two minutes into a stoppage period that ran to twelve.

Spain 2-0 France

Semi-final, Dallas - Spain have not trailed for a single minute all tournament

England 1-2 Argentina

Semi-final, Atlanta - won in the 92nd minute of NORMAL time, not extra time

Messi, 2026

8 goals and 4 assists, and an assist for both Argentina goals in the semi-final

Oyarzabal

5 goals - now Spain's all-time leading World Cup scorer

That difference matters for the final. Spain have controlled their games and rarely been asked an uncomfortable question. Argentina have repeatedly been behind, or level late, and found a way anyway. Those are two different kinds of evidence, and a final is exactly the situation where they get tested against each other.

What to expect

Expect Spain to have the ball and Argentina to be comfortable without it. Expect the game to hinge on whether Rodri can play at his own tempo, because when he does, Spain's shape barely breaks. Expect Messi to drift into the left half-space rather than run in behind, and expect Argentina to be more dangerous in the second half than the first - that has been the pattern all tournament.

And expect it to be tight. Spain's defence has barely been breached; Argentina have scored late in three separate knockout rounds. If it is level after 70 minutes, everything the tournament has shown suggests Argentina are the side more used to that particular kind of pressure.

Following it live

Kickoff is 3:00pm ET on Sunday 19 July at MetLife Stadium. We will be covering it minute by minute on our live page - the score, the clock and every goal update in real time, with a fan chat alongside it. Before kickoff you can still vote on who wins; when the whistle goes we will put the crowd's prediction next to the actual result.

And the moment a champion is crowned, War of Soccer goes live - free, in your browser. World Cup Final day is War of Soccer day.