The long -awaited finalissima between Lionel Messi's Argentina and the Spain of Lamine Yamal is gaining grip, with the World Cup 2026 less than a year away. Although the date is almost completed, a new country is said to have entered into the race to organize the confrontation.
President of the Spanish football federation Rafael Louzán and AFA President Claudio Tapia have reached an agreement to organize the finalissima during the international break of March 2026 – just before the World Cup. Although an exact day still has to be confirmed, the competition is expected to take place in the last weeks of that month.
As with the date, the location is not officially confirmed. After England organized the 2022 edition in Wembley, it again offered to organize the competition, in addition to potential bids from Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Now a fourth competition has been created.
Uruguay enters as Finalissima Host candidate
According to TYC Sports, the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) is actively striving to organize the finalissima between Argentina and Spain. The proposed location is Montevideo's iconic Estadio Centenario, making it a stage for a blockbuster between Messi and Yamal.
The AUF's intention is to organize the competition just before the renovation work starts in the stadium prior to the World Cup 2030. That tournament will be opened in the Centenario in honor of the 100th anniversary of the inaugural World Cup before he shifts over the Atlantic Ocean to accommodate Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
Although no official confirmation has been issued, Uruguay officials were reportedly started with the logistics planning to ensure that the location meets the international hosting standards of FIFA.
Of the three finalissima editions that are held so far, only one took place on South American soil -in 1993, when Argentina organized Denmark. Now the site of the very first World Cup final could again write history, possibly as the stage for a generation of collision between Messi and Yamal.