A senior NBCUniversal Telemundo executive has predicted that Sunday's World Cup final between Argentina and Spain could become "the greatest World Cup final ever" for Spanish-language audiences. Miguel Lorenzo, SVP of Sports Content for NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, said the match combines two heavily supported nations, historic rivalry, and star power, including Lionel Messi (39), widely regarded as the greatest player ever, and Spain's rising talent Lamine Yamal, dubbed "the next Messi". He noted it is also the first final to pit the defending World Cup champion against the reigning European champion, both pre-tournament favourites.

The 2026 tournament, expanded and hosted across 16 North American cities in favourable US time zones, has already broken viewership records for both Telemundo and English-language rights holder Fox. Last week's semi-finals drew 9.8 million viewers for Spain-France and 11.4 million for Argentina-England on Telemundo and Peacock, both records for Spanish-language coverage, while Fox's broadcasts hit 11.5 million and 15.1 million respectively. Despite criticism over the semi-finals and Sunday's final being scheduled outside primetime (3pm ET/noon PT), Lorenzo argued strong matchups and flexible viewing options would still drive audiences, with Telemundo planning its most extensive production yet, featuring correspondents reporting from Spain and Argentina alongside coverage from the East Rutherford, New Jersey final venue.