Bullet point summary by AI
- For the first time ever, the European and South American champions will face off in the World Cup Final on Sunday.
- Only two teams in World Cup history have ever won consecutive titles, making this year’s final a chance for rare history.
- The defending champions aim to join an elite group and cement their legacy as the greatest international team of all-time.
On Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, the 23rd FIFA World Cup Final takes place, and this one promises to be an all-timer. For the first time ever, the European champions will face the South American champions in the final. Oh, and Argentina are defending world champions, too.
Inspired by Lionel Messi, who assisted both goals, la Albiceleste fought back from a goal down to beat England 2-1 in Wednesday’s semifinal at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Enzo Fernández lashed home an equalizer from long-range, doing so just four minutes from time, before Lautaro Martínez’s header in stoppage time snatched victory.
So now, Argentina will get the chance to retain the World Cup, but how rare of a feat is this? On the women’s side, this has been achieved by Germany in 2007 and the USWNT in 2019 under Jill Ellis. This, though, is a significantly rarer achievement at men’s World Cups — in the 96-year history of the World Cup, only two teams have ever managed to go back-to-back. Argentina is aiming to join the pantheon of great teams from the past.
Teams that have won back-to-back World Cups
| Team | Years | First Final | Second Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 1934 and 1938 | 2-1 vs. Czechoslovakia | 4-2 vs. Hungary |
| Brazil | 1958 and 1962 | 5-2 vs. Sweden | 3-1 vs. Czechoslovakia. |
After not entering the inaugural edition in Uruguay in 1930, Italy triumphed on home soil four years later, before retaining the World Cup in Paris in 1938, a year before WWII broke out.
The only other nation to achieve this are Argentina’s historic South American rivals Brazil in 1958 and 1962. In the former, a teenaged Pelé scored twice as the Seleção beat hosts Sweden 5-2 at Råsundastadion, before a come from behind victory over Czechoslovakia in Santiago.
In the modern era, retaining the World Cup is viewed as a one of those truly impossible sporting achievements, so how many holders have even got all the way to the following finals?
World Cup holders to lose in the next final
| Team | Final won | Final lost |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina 1986 and 1990 | 3-2 vs. West Germany. | Lost 1-0 vs. West Germany |
| Brazil: 1994 & 1998 | 3-2 on penalties vs. Italy | Lost 3-0 vs. France |
| France: 2018 & 2022. | 4-2 vs. Croatia. | Lost 4-2 on pens .vs Argentina |
Only three World Cup holders have got all the way to the following World Cup Final and fallen short. Argentina themselves did just that in 1990, meeting West Germany in both Mexico City and then Rome, beaten 1-0 at Stadio Olimpico in, what is widely considered, the worst final of all-time.
Meantime, in widely considered the best ever, holders France were beaten by Argentina themselves on penalties in Qatar three and a half years ago, after the pair had played out a thrilling 3-3 draw. Is that a good or bad omen for this Sunday’s clash in East Rutherford? Only time will tell.
Victory for Argentina on Sunday would see them lay claim to the greatest international team of all-time, a title, debatably, currently held by Spain themselves. Between 2008 and 2012, la Roja won the Euros, the World Cup for the very first time and then the Euros again.
Well, right now, la Albiceleste have matched that by triumphing at Copa América 2021, the World Cup the following year and the most-recent Copa América two summers ago. This, remarkably, comes directly after Argentina had endured a 28-year trophy draught, losing no fewer than seven finals during this time frame.
Well, no team from any continent has ever won four successive major tournaments, so Messi and teammates could make plenty of history with victory in New Jersey.
