A historic World Cup final between Spain and Argentina is setting a new record that has stood for more than 90 years. The final of the tournament, which takes place this Sunday, July 19, 2026, will feature ten Atlético de Madrid players, establishing the largest number of representatives from a single club in a decisive World Cup match.
The clash between the teams from Spain and Argentina will take place at 4pm (Brasília time) in New Jersey, in the United States. The public will be able to follow all the moves in real time, promising an electrifying match.
The delegation of athletes from the Madrid club is divided between the finalists: four players defend the Spanish team, while six represent Argentina. For Spain, there are Álex Baena, Grimaldo, Llorente and Pubill. For Argentina, the names are Almada, Giuliano Simeone, Julián Alvarez, Musso, Nahuel Molina and Nico Gonzalez.
Atlético de Madrid and consistency in previous world cups
This is not the first time that Atlético de Madrid has stood out in the World Cup finals. The Spanish club demonstrates remarkable consistency, being the team with the most athletes in the decision for the third consecutive time. In 2018, for example, the team contributed four players – Griezmann, Lucas Hernández, Thomas Lemar and Vrsaljko – to the final, which had France and Croatia on the field. At the 2022 World Cup, Griezmann returned to represent Atlético, this time facing Argentines Ángel Correa, De Paul and Molina, who also defended the club’s colors.
The strong connection between the Spanish club and the Argentine national team
The current edition of the World Cup reinforces the deep ties between Atlético de Madrid and the Argentine national team. Giuliano Simeone, one of the players who will compete in the final for Argentina, is the son of renowned coach Diego Simeone, an iconic figure in Argentine football and commander of the Spanish team for 15 years. This family connection has been visible, with Diego Simeone present in the boxes to honor his son, who started in the semi-final against England.
Julián Alvarez’s impact on the transfer market
Another big name for Atlético de Madrid and the Argentine national team is striker Julián Alvarez, whose performance in the World Cup has generated great movement in the transfer market. The player has become the target of a fierce dispute between giants like Barcelona and Real Madrid, Atlético’s biggest rivals, and has already received proposals that approach the impressive R$1 billion mark.
How the new record compares to the history of the tournament
The record set by Atlético de Madrid is the most significant since the 1934 World Cup. On that occasion, Czechoslovakia, who finished as runners-up, had 11 Red Star players in their squad, eight of whom started in the decisive match.
This 1934 milestone reflects a distinct era of football, where teams were predominantly made up of athletes who played in their respective countries of origin. Champion Italy, for example, had as its pillar the legendary Juventus of the 1930s, which lent nine players to the national team.
In that tournament, the presence of players playing in foreign leagues was a rarity. Only two called up played outside their homelands: the Czechoslovakian Josef Silny, who played in French football, and the Brazilian Patesko, striker for Nacional in Uruguay, demonstrating how unusual the globalization of football was at the time.
