This is the last match of the whole tournament. Everything below assumes you know nothing about football — and that's fine, because most of the fun here isn't really about football.
48 countries started a month ago. Two are left. Whoever wins on Sunday is world champion for the next four years. There is no second leg, no next week — it ends Sunday night.
They won the last World Cup in 2022. Nobody has won two in a row since 1962 — over 60 years ago. They're one match from doing something genuinely historic.
Spain have played 7 matches and let in one single goal all tournament. They keep the ball, pass you into exhaustion, and quietly win. They last won this in 2010.
Lionel Messi is 39, widely called the greatest ever, and this is his sixth and final World Cup. He's playing the best football of the tournament. This is the last chapter.
England lost 2–1 to Argentina in the semi-final on Wednesday — they led with 5 minutes to go and threw it away. So the team knocking England out is in Sunday's final. England play France on Saturday at 10pm (BBC One) in the third-place match, which decides nothing but is on anyway.
Football fans speak in code. Here's the code. Once you have these twelve, everything else on this page (and everything the commentators say) makes sense.
Six a side is plenty. The tag on the left is where they play: GK = goalkeeper (the one who can use hands), DEF = defender (stops goals), MID = midfielder (controls the middle), FWD = forward (scores goals). Names in gold are the ones who decide finals.
Turned 19 during this tournament and is already one of the most famous players alive. Fast, fearless, plays on the right. Watch for him running straight at defenders.
Officially won the award for best player in the world. Doesn't score or do tricks — he just controls the entire game's speed from deep. Spain rarely lose when he plays.
Somehow never loses the ball, no matter how many players surround him. He and Rodri together are the reason Spain hog possession.
Spain's leading scorer this tournament and not remotely famous — which is very Spain. Scored the penalty that beat France.
A teenager anchoring the best defence in the tournament. Spain have let in one goal in seven games and he's a big reason why.
Calm, reliable, and comfortable passing the ball with his feet — which matters, because Spain pass out from their own goal constantly.
The most famous footballer on earth, in his last ever World Cup. Has scored more World Cup goals than anyone in history. He doesn't run much any more — he just walks around and then decides the game.
Argentina's late-drama specialist. He has scored crucial goals in the dying minutes of three knockout matches, including the one that knocked England out.
Scored the goal that started the comeback against England. Powerful, shoots from distance, drives the team forward.
The one who has to stop Spain's midfield running the game. If Argentina can't get the ball off Spain, this is where it goes wrong.
Tireless runner who never stops harassing defenders. Was key to Argentina winning the last World Cup in 2022.
Argentina's showman. Famous for saving penalties — and for psyching opponents out while doing it. If this goes to a shoot-out, he's the reason Argentina fancy their chances.
You don't need to like football to enjoy these. The first one is genuinely one of the strangest coincidences in sport.
In 2007, a 20-year-old Messi posed for a charity photoshoot for Barcelona — bathing a chubby baby in a tub. That baby was Lamine Yamal, now 19, now Spain's star, and now standing across from Messi in a World Cup final. The photo went viral and fans reckon the bath passed on magic powers. Look it up before Sunday.
Messi is 39 and this is his sixth World Cup — a record — and definitively his last. He has scored more World Cup goals than any player ever, and he's leading the race for top scorer, a prize he has somehow never won. A perfect ending is right there.
Argentina won the last World Cup. If they win Sunday, they'll be the first country to win two in a row since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Winning one is hard enough; defending it has defeated everyone for over 60 years.
Spain have played seven matches and let in one goal. One. They beat Portugal, Belgium and France on the way here without ever looking rushed. They're not flashy — they're suffocating.
Spain win calmly and in control. Argentina have been the opposite — nearly every match a last-gasp escape, including three knockout wins settled in the final minutes. One of these two ways of doing things has to break.
For the first time ever, Spain's squad contains no players from Real Madrid — one of the biggest clubs in the world, in their own country. The coach picked on form alone. In Spain, this is still an argument.
This final has an American-style half-time show, with Justin Bieber, Madonna, Shakira, BTS and Burna Boy all reportedly performing, plus Post Malone at the closing ceremony. World Cup finals have never done this. Football purists are appalled. Everyone else is delighted.
One each, ideally. Say them with a slow nod, as though you've thought about it for years.
"Messi's not even running and he's still the best player on the pitch."Say it any time he's standing still, which is often. Always true, always sounds wise.
"Spain have conceded one goal in seven games. One."Just the fact. Devastating on its own. Best deployed early.
"Nobody's won back-to-back since 1962, you know."Drop this if Argentina go ahead. Instantly makes you the informed one in the room.
"Watch Rodri. He never does anything flashy and he's running the whole game."The connoisseur's line. Nobody can prove you wrong, and you happen to be right.
"If this goes to penalties, Argentina win. Their keeper lives for it."Save for the last 10 minutes of a draw. If it happens, you're a genius forever.