Steve McManaman Predicts Spain Will Defeat Argentina in World Cup Final

Spain against Argentina. New York on a Sunday. A World Cup final with history stitched into every thread, even if these two giants have barely crossed paths on this stage.

Steve McManaman is in no doubt which way it goes.

Working as a pundit on ESPN FC, the former Liverpool and Real Madrid winger pinned his colours firmly to the Spanish mast, calling not just a win, but a comfortable one.

“I’m going 3-1 to Spain. I’ll be nice and concise,” he said, offering no tactical breakdown, no caveats – just a scoreline and a conviction that the reigning European champions will finish the job.

Spain arrive with a statement win still echoing around the tournament. In Dallas on Tuesday, Luis de la Fuente’s side dismantled France, the 2018 world champions and pre-tournament favourites, with a controlled 2-0 semi-final victory. They didn’t just beat them; they dictated the tempo, shut down the counter-threat, and pushed themselves to the brink of a first World Cup crown since 2010 – and only the second in their history.

Argentina have taken a very different road to New York. Less smooth, more scarred, but no less compelling.

In the semi-final, they leaned on that familiar, stubborn streak that has defined so many of their campaigns. Trailing Euro 2024 finalists England deep into the game, they refused to fold. Two goals in the final five minutes plus stoppage time flipped a 1-0 defeat into a 2-1 victory, sealed their seventh win of the tournament, and reminded everyone that this team thrives in chaos as much as control.

It all feeds into a final that carries a curious historical twist. These nations have met only once before at a World Cup, back in 1966 on English soil. That day, La Albiceleste edged a 2-1 win in a Group 2 clash and marched into the quarter-finals, where they were narrowly knocked out by eventual champions England.

McManaman believes that memory will not be lost on Spain. De la Fuente’s players, he is convinced, will see this as a chance to settle an old score on the grandest stage of all.

There was supposed to be a more recent dress rehearsal. Spain and Argentina had been scheduled to meet in the Finalissima in March, a showcase meeting of champions that promised to add a fresh chapter to their thin head-to-head record. It never happened; the game was cancelled for various reasons, leaving this World Cup final as the first real collision of these eras.

So it comes to New York instead. Spain, slick and ruthless after dismantling France. Argentina, battle-hardened and late-surging after breaking English hearts.

McManaman has nailed his prediction to the mast. On Sunday, we find out whether Spain can turn that confidence into a new era of dominance – or whether Argentina’s refusal to bow will rip up the script once again.