The Argentina national football team faces Spain on Sunday evening in the World Cup final with eight of the players who started the previous edition's final against France in December 2022. Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni chose to enter the match with a lineup that includes goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, full-backs Nicolas Tagliafico and Gonzalo Montiel, defenders Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez, midfielders Enzo Fernandez, Rodrigo De Paul, and Alexis Mac Allister, and forwards Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez, and Nicolas Gonzalez in the front line. Except for Montiel, Lisandro, and Gonzalez, the rest of the Argentine lineup were present in the final of the 'Qatar 2022' edition, which the 'Tangos' won under the same coach. Winger Angel Di Maria played that final and scored a goal, but he is absent from the 2026 World Cup due to his international retirement. Montiel came on as a substitute against France and scored the decisive penalty that announced the champion. Scaloni is starting him against Spain at the expense of his regular right-back Nahuel Molina, who started the previous matches, including the semifinal against England. In central defense, the coach has relied since the start of the tournament on Lisandro Martinez, who remained on the bench in the previous edition's final. The defensive partnership then consisted of Romero and veteran Nicolas Otamendi, who is a substitute in this edition. Compared to the match against England, Scaloni made three changes to his lineup: starting Montiel instead of Molina, Gonzalez instead of winger Giovanni Simeone, and De Paul in midfield instead of Leandro Paredes.