Spain booked their place in the 2026 World Cup final with a commanding 2-0 defeat of France in Dallas, and will face Argentina after the defending champions edged England 2-1 in the other semi-final. The decider, scheduled for Sunday 19 July at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, pits the two highest-ranked sides left in the tournament against each other and carries a subplot that has captivated the sport: the friendship between the two managers.

Mikel Oyarzabal converted a 22nd-minute penalty to give La Roja the lead, and Pedro Porro doubled the advantage just before the hour mark with a finish that capped a move of sustained pressure. Spanish media noted that the performance extended the team’s record unbeaten run to 37 official matches, a sequence that began in June 2023 and now includes 30 wins and seven draws. Luis de la Fuente, the 65-year-old coach, later told reporters that his message to the players had been simple: “We were facing one of the best teams in the world, but they were facing the best team in the world.”

De la Fuente made no secret of his preference for a final against Argentina, citing his bond with Lionel Scaloni. The two men met in 2017 when Scaloni enrolled in a coaching course at the Spanish Football Federation’s training centre in Las Rozas, where De la Fuente was an instructor. “I would love to play Argentina because of my friendship with Scaloni,” he said after the France match, while acknowledging that England would also have been a formidable opponent. Argentine outlets reported that Scaloni, speaking before his own semi-final, had expressed similar warmth: “I want Spain to do well. Luis helped us enormously when we took the course with him. He’s a great guy.”

The personal connection sits within a broader narrative of elite competition. For the first time in World Cup history, the four semi-finalists occupied the top four spots in the FIFA ranking. De la Fuente, who previously guided Spain to titles at the UEFA Nations League in 2023 and 2025 and to the Euro 2024 crown, has now reached four consecutive major finals. Brazilian coverage highlighted that several of his current players—Unai Simón, Rodri, Mikel Merino—were part of the Spain under-19 side that won the European Championship under him in 2015, a continuity that De la Fuente described as a “bond that is hard to break.”

The final will be the first to feature 48 nations, and for both coaches it represents a chance to add a World Cup to an already glittering record. Spain seek a second star on their shirt; Argentina, a fourth. When the two teams walk out in New Jersey, the embrace between the former professor and his pupil will be one of the tournament’s enduring images.