On Sunday, defending champions Argentina meet Spain in the World Cup final—South America’s best against Europe’s finest. How do they stack up? Here are the numbers.
With two of their matches going to extra time, Argentina have played roughly an hour more than Spain at this tournament—so we’ve adjusted by showing each stat on a per‑90‑minutes basis.
Argentina lead the field with 19 goals, powered by clinical finishing. They’ve scored at least twice in each of their last 13 World Cup games, a streak that began after their 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in the opening match four years ago.
Spain, despite attempting more shots, have six fewer goals. Their finishing has matched expectations so far—13 goals from an xG of 13.3.
Inside the box, Argentina are only one goal better, but they’ve been far more threatening from range: five goals from outside the area, while Spain have yet to score from distance.