Steve McManaman Predicts Spain Will Defeat Argentina in World Cup Final
Steve McManaman is not sitting on the fence. With Spain and Argentina set to collide in New York on Sunday, the former Liverpool winger has nailed his colours firmly to the European champions’ mast – and he’s predicting a statement win.
Speaking on ESPN FC, McManaman forecast a 3-1 victory for Luis de la Fuente’s side in a World Cup final loaded with history, revenge and contrasting routes to the showpiece.
“I’m going 3-1 to Spain. I’ll be nice and concise,” he said, offering no tactical breakdown, just a blunt scoreline and a clear belief that Spain will have too much.
Spain’s swagger versus Argentina’s survival instinct
Spain arrive in New York with momentum and authority. Their 2-0 semi-final win over France in Dallas on Tuesday was not just impressive; it was dominant. They outplayed the 2018 world champions, controlled the tempo, and shut down one of the tournament’s most feared attacks.
That result pushed Spain to the brink of a first world title since 2010 and only their second overall. They look like a side that knows exactly who they are: European champions with a clear identity, comfortable on the ball and ruthless when chances appear.
Argentina have taken a very different road. It has been a grind, but a familiar one. Their semi-final against England in Houston turned into another test of nerve and stubbornness, and once again they passed it.
Chasing the game against the Euro 2024 finalists, Argentina summoned their trademark resilience. They flipped a 1-0 deficit with two late goals, both coming in the final five minutes plus stoppage time, to steal a 2-1 win and secure their seventh victory of the tournament. They bend. They rarely break.
One side sweeping teams aside with control. The other dragging opponents into deep water and outlasting them. McManaman, though, sees a gap.
A final with unfinished business
Spain and Argentina carry a thin but sharp slice of history into this match. Remarkably, they have met only once before at a World Cup, all the way back in 1966 in England.
On that occasion, La Albiceleste edged a 2-1 win in a Group 2 clash, a result that sent them through to the quarter-finals and knocked Spain out. Argentina’s run ended there, narrowly beaten by the eventual champions, England, but the damage to Spanish hopes had already been done.
For McManaman, that old scar adds an extra layer to Sunday’s narrative. He is convinced De la Fuente’s players will not be short of motivation to overturn that lone World Cup defeat to Argentina and write a very different chapter.
The two nations were supposed to cross paths more recently. They had been scheduled to meet in the Finalissima in March, a showdown that would have pitted the European champions against the South American giants. That game never happened, cancelled for various reasons, and the idea of a heavyweight clash was shelved.
Now they get something far bigger. Not a ceremonial trophy. The World Cup itself.
Spain arrive as reigning European champions, fresh from dismantling the tournament favourites. Argentina come in scarred but hardened, fresh from another late heist. McManaman has made his call: Spain by two goals, 3-1, and a comfortable night for De la Fuente’s men.
On Sunday in New York, we find out whether this is Spain’s coronation – or another chapter in Argentina’s refusal to follow anyone else’s script.
