THE HISTORY OF SPAIN VS ARGENTINA IN THE WORLD CUP
Even though Spain and Argentina are both big and famous countries that have played in the World Cup for a long time, they have only ever met once in the World Cup. That meeting was in Birmingham, England, the year England hosted the tournament.
According to FIFA records, the two teams have only met once in the World Cup. It happened on July 13, 1966, at Villa Park Stadium in Birmingham, England.
In that 1966 match, Argentina won 2-1 in the group stage of the World Cup. All three goals were scored in the second half. Luis Artime scored twice for Argentina in the 65th and 77th minutes, while Pirri scored Spain’s goal in the 71st minute.
That result helped Argentina advance from the group, but England later knocked them out in the Quarter-Final. Spain was eliminated in the group stage.
After that 1966 game, it has been 60 years. Spain and Argentina will not meet again in the World Cup until Sunday, July 19, 2026. The match will be played at New York New Jersey Stadium* in the USA, and it will be the World Cup Final.
This will be the first time the current European champions, Spain, and the current South American champions, Argentina, will meet in a World Cup Final.
Despite meeting only once in the World Cup, Spain and Argentina have played 14 matches overall since 1952. Each team has won 6 times, and 2 matches ended in a draw.
The last match they played before 2026 was a friendly in March 2018, where Spain beat Argentina 6-1 in Madrid.
Spain: 1 World Cup title 2010.
Argentina: 3 World Cup titles 1978, 1986, and 2022.