Argentina Injury News vs Spain in World Cup Final
The final of the 2026 World Cup will be contested between Argentina and Spain. They each overcame England and France in the semi-finals, respectively, but Argentina have a few injury issues that they might need to worry about.
A physical outfit who like to make use of the dark arts, Argentina’s high-energy approach off the ball is always going to attract injuries. Has their no-frills attitide finally caught up with them?
Today, we’ll be looking at five Argentina players who could miss out on the 2026 World Cup final against Spain on Sunday evening.
We have already taken a look at Spain’s injury news, as well as a combined lineup between the two teams. With that out of the way, let’s begin.
Leandro Paredes
Leandro Paredes was an injury doubt before the semi-final against England. He was brought off the field late on against Switzerland, clearly exhausted, raising doubts as to whether he would be fit to play against the Three Lions.
Once again, Paredes was substituted off in the semi-final, where he was replaced by Manchester City’s Nico Gonzalez in the 64th minute.
Outside of this, however, Paredes isn’t thought to be injured. The choice to bring him off for Gonzalez was a tactical one, giving more height to Argentina’s attack as they led an all-out assault on England’s goal.
Facundo Medina
Facundo Medina was expected to be a regular starter for Argentina throughout the 2026 World Cup, but injuries have prevented him from having much of a presence for La Albiceleste.
He picked up a calf problem in Argentina’s last 32 game against Cape Verde and has struggled to make his way back into the team ever since, after starting in two of their three group games.
According to a report from The Independent, Medina is in a ‘race against time’ to make his way back to full fitness ahead of the final.
Christian Romero
Like Paredes, Romero was also brought off late against Switzerland in their quarter-final encounter. He laboured to even make it off the pitch – his fatigue was clear to see.
However, Romero seems to have shaken this off with no issues. Against England, the Tottenham Hotspur man completed the full 90 minutes, despite picking up a yellow card in the second half.
As yellow card suspension tallies were wiped after the quarter-final stage of the competition, this won’t affect Romero’s availability.
Rodrigo DePaul
Rodrigo De Paul has been a key player for Argentina at the World Cup thus far, having started in all but one of their games at the tournament prior to the semi-final against England.
As such, audiences were surprised to see him left out of Lionel Scaloni’s starting lineup for their game against the Three Lions. Despite this, his omission was thought to merely be a tactical one, according to AS.
De Paul was brought on as a substitute in the second half for Giuliano Simeone and showed no ill effects – he should be fit to play against Spain.
Lisandro Martinez
Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez has always struggled with injury issues. Back in 2024, he spent almost an entire year out of action with a cruciate ligament problem.
It raised concern, then, when Martinez was hooked by Scaloni in the second half of their semi-final match for the 38-year-old Nicolas Otamendi.
Nevertheless, as far as we can tell, this was a tactical decision. In fairness, he had been booked – Scaloni was perhaps wary of him potentially picking up a second yellow.
