Spain vs Argentina: The heavyweight rivalry the World Cup forgot
Despite decades as two of soccer’s biggest powers, Spain and Argentina have met only once in World Cup history, way back in 1966.
Spain and Argentina will meet in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, but do you remember their last meeting on soccer’s biggest stage? If you’re scratching your head, there’s a good reason, and you’re almost certainly not alone.
Although the two countries have been among international soccer’s biggest and most successful teams in recent decades, they have, quite incredibly, only met once in FIFA World Cup history. And that sole clash came back in 1966. Ask your grandfather about it.
Argentina ended Spain’s 1966 World Cup
Sixty years ago in England, Argentina defeated Spain 2-1 in a group stage game at Villa Park in Birmingham, a result that helped La Albiceleste qualify for the knockout rounds at La Roja’s expense.
Luis Artime, Argentina’s most prolific scorer with 24 goals in just 25 international appearances, scored a second-half double either side of a goal from Real Madrid legend Pirri.
That, though, was about as good as it got for the South Americans, who were beaten by hosts and eventual champions England in the quarterfinals 10 days later.
And that has been that when it comes to World Cup meetings between the Spanish-speaking nations.
Why Spain and Argentina have rarely met at the World Cup
Of the first 10 World Cups, Spain and Argentina only qualified for the same tournament three times, which goes some way toward explaining how they managed to avoid each other for so long.
However, both have featured in every tournament since 1978, 13 straight editions, and have regularly reached the knockout stages, making it quite astonishing that their paths had not crossed again until now.
In addition to two meetings in the Copa de la Hispanidad, a friendly tournament held in the 1970s, the two countries have faced each other in 11 friendlies over the years. The most recent, and arguably the most memorable, saw Spain thrash Argentina 6-1 at Madrid’s Estadio Metropolitano in March 2018. Of the current squads, only Argentina trio Nicolás Otamendi, Nicolás Tagliafico, and Giovani Lo Celso played in that game, while Lionel Messi did not feature.
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