Due to the lack of agreement between UEFA and the Argentine Federation, the “Finalissima” between Spain and Lionel Messi’s team, which was originally scheduled to take place on March 27 in Doha (Qatar), will not happen.
The end of the saga. The “Finalissima” between Spain, winner of Euro 2024, and Argentina, winner of the Copa America, has been canceled. The match was supposed to be played on March 27 in Doha, Qatar. Due to the war in the Middle East, the Qatari Football Association (QFA) first announced the postponement of the match until further notice.
Discussions then started with UEFA and CONMEBOL in order for this prestigious match between Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi to take place in Europe. However, given the short timeline, no agreement was reached between all parties. Several options were considered. “None were deemed acceptable by the Argentine Football Federation,” said the European body in a statement on Sunday.
Argentina says no to plan B, the Bernabeu
The most serious option led to Madrid, at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, on the originally planned date of March 27 with an equal distribution of supporters. Argentina rejected this proposal, according to UEFA. The other option was a double confrontation, the first in Madrid, the second in Buenos Aires before the 2028 editions of the Euro and Copa America. Argentina’s second refusal also involved rejecting the Finalissima taking place on neutral ground in Europe on March 27.
According to UEFA, Argentina proposed playing the match after the 2026 World Cup, but Spain did not have available dates. Lastly, the Algerian Football Federation indicated that they could only play on March 31. The 3rd edition of the “Finalissima” was won by the Argentines 3-0 against Italy on June 1, 2022, at Wembley.
