​They had us in the first half, not gonna lie. But Spain powered through the 2026 World Cup to reach the final match and the opportunity to win its second title.La Roja takes on Argentina in the championship fixture on Sunday, July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSpain got off to a slow start via a 0-0 draw with Cape Verde, which turned out to be the Cinderella story of the tournament. Teenage superstar Lamine Yamal made his World Cup debut off the bench in the match after he spent the spring recovering from a hamstring injury. He scored his first World Cup goal in the group play win against Saudi Arabia but hasn’t netted the ball since. Mikel Oyarzabal has scored five times for the 2010 champions, including a penalty to start the scoring in the semifinal victory over France. Mikel Merino is the clutch king with two late goals.Yamal and defender Pedro Porro, who also got a goal in the semifinals, trained apart from the full group on Thursday, July 16 in the team’s first training session since clinching a place in the final. Spain manager Luis de la Fuente didn’t seem concerned about either in the aftermath of the semifinal win.1 / 13Spain’s Lamine Yamal in action during the World Cup with Portugal’s Nuno Mendes and Renato Veiga in Arlington, Texas, on July 6, 2026.He became the youngest player to score a World Cup goal since Pelé in 1958.(Tim Heitman, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters)The coach’s Starting XI has mostly stayed the same through the knockout rounds and he might stick to the game plan against Lionel Messi and the defending champions.- Contributing: Jon ArnoldAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementGoalkeeper: Unai SimónMidfielders: Rodri, Fabián Ruiz, Álex BaenaForwards: Dani Olmo, Mikel Oyarzabal, Lamine YamalTime: 3 p.m. ETDate: Sunday, July 19Location: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New JerseyThis article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Spain projected lineup for World Cup final vs. Argentina: Will Lamine Yamal start?