Two Inter Miami players are 90 minutes away from winning the World Cup. That sentence would have sounded absurd five years ago. Now it's just the setup to the 2026 final.
When Thiago Almada lifted the trophy with Argentina in 2022, he became the first active MLS player to win a World Cup. He didn't even play in the final — didn't matter. The milestone stood. Now, with Argentina facing Spain in the decider, MLS has two players who could go one better: Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul, both on Inter Miami's books, both central to how Argentina got here.
The short list that tells a big story
A record 45 MLS players were called up for this tournament. Forty-five. And yet, when you whittle it down to the last two teams standing, the number of MLS players who could actually lift the trophy is two. Both Argentine. Both from the same club.
Spain's squad — Lamine Yamal, Rodri, Dani Olmo — is built entirely from European football. That's not a slight on MLS. It just reflects where elite European nations still recruit from. The gap is real, even if it's closing.
Messi, at 39, has driven Argentina to this final on another absurd late-career run. De Paul, his midfield partner at club and country, has been the engine alongside him. Argentina's odds of winning this final carry real weight — and so do the odds on Messi scoring or assisting at any point in the match, given his form throughout the tournament.
What actually winning would mean
A decade ago, no World Cup finalist was fielding multiple MLS-based players in core roles. Now Argentina are doing exactly that, and one of them is the best player the sport has produced. The league's growth is real — 45 call-ups don't lie.
If Argentina beat Spain, Messi and De Paul become the first MLS players to win a World Cup final as active starters in the decisive match. Almada broke the door down in 2022. This would blow it off the hinges.
The final is set. The history is right there.
