The FIFA World Cup final will take place on Sunday as Lionel Messi and Argentina take on Spain. Messi will be looking to lead his country to their second World Cup title in a row, but first they must get past Lamine Yamal and Spain.
Best Lionel Messi Prop Bet
First things first, let’s get an overview of Messi’s prop lines for this match.
He has the shortest odds for scoring at least one goal in the game, +130 with extra time included and +155 in 90 minutes. Messi has the lowest odds to score the first goal in the match at +400, something he has done three times in this World Cup. He’s at +850 to score a pair of goals and +5000 to get a hat trick. His lowest available shots-on-target lines (including extra time) are 1 at -900, followed by 2-plus at -115, 3-plus at +300, and 4-plus at +950. The lowest line for Messi’s total shot attempts is 2-plus at -2000, followed by 3-plus at -275, 4-plus at +105, 5-plus at +255 and 6-plus at +600. For assists, 1-plus assist is at +320.
I’m taking Messi to score in the World Cup final. He’s no stranger to this moment, as he scored twice in the 2022 final against France as Argentina went on to lift the trophy. They have their hands full with another European juggernaut in the 2026 final, facing the reigning European champions, Spain. Messi has not scored in two straight games, but he’s still tied for the lead in the Golden Boot race with Kylian Mbappe as they have both scored eight times in this tournament. Messi was on an incredible run in the World Cup, as he scored in each of the last four games of the 2022 tournament and started the 2026 tournament with at least one goal in each of the first five games. Scoring a goal in nine straight World Cup games is an insane stat, but the quarter-final against Switzerland and the semi-final against England halted that streak with no goals in either. Messi turned into more of a creator in the second half against England, dropping into a deeper position than usual on the right side and providing crosses into the middle as Argentina looked to claw back from a 1-0 deficit. It turned out to be a great call from Lionel Scaloni, as Messi provided two assists in the 2-1 win. Look for him to go back to his usual position in this one and be the focal point of the Argentina attack. Messi is the all-time leader in World Cup goals, and he’s at his best when the lights are the brightest. I expect him to get on the scoresheet here.
