Spain will defeat Argentina in the 2026 World Cup final, according to former Real Madrid and Liverpool striker Fernando Morientes. The ex-Spain international made his prediction ahead of Sunday's clash at the New York/New Jersey Stadium, where La Roja seek their second World Cup title.
Path to the Final
Spain reached their first World Cup final in 16 years by overcoming pre-tournament favourites France 2-0 in the semi-finals, with goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro. Argentina, the defending champions, came from behind to beat England in the other semi-final, keeping alive their bid to become only the third nation to retain the World Cup after Italy and Brazil.
Morientes Backs Spain
Morientes, who represented Spain at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, believes his nation will earn a second star on their shirt. "Who will win the World Cup this year? Spain are very strong. I think the champion will come from the semi-final between Spain-France," he told Reviant. "I might be wrong, but I think as the team who won that game, Spain has many possibilities. Obviously, on the other hand, Argentina are also strong. But I think if I were to bet, I would say that the next world champion will be Spain."
Praise for De la Fuente
The former striker also praised Spain coach Luis de la Fuente, suggesting he could rank among the nation's greatest managers if he wins the World Cup. "Luis de la Fuente, the greatest coach in Spain’s history? Well, if we're talking purely about titles, he could be," Morientes added. "But that comes down to context, as we were just discussing: which generation. Del Bosque's generation, I think that's been the best generation Spain has ever had on the pitch, collectively. And I'd argue this one arguably deserves even more credit, because I don't know that as much was expected of this squad, after losing Lamine Yamal to injury, and Nico Williams too, both of whom were architects of that great Euros squad. I think that's down to De la Fuente. So if he's capable of winning the World Cup too, I'd obviously put him up there with the great managers. And when we talk about the great managers, we obviously mean the ones who've been capable of winning both the World Cup, with Del Bosque, and the Euros, with Luis Aragones."
