The 2026 World Cup has reached its final match. Spain and Argentina will face each other at the New York New Jersey Stadium this Sunday, July 19. Lautaro Martínez is the only representative of Inter Milan in this final. The Argentine forward kept alive a streak that began in the 1982 World Cup.

Until the duel between Argentina and England, two clubs had a chance of keeping a great streak alive in the World Cup finals. Bayern Munich and Inter Milan were the only two teams that had put players in the World Cup finals since 1982.

However, the elimination of France and England left the German team out of the streak. Harry Kane was the last one standing. In this sense, Inter Milan is alone in this curious statistic.

In the 1982 World Cup, Inter Milan featured Bergomi, Oriali, Altobelli, Bordon and Marini in the Italian team that beat Germany 3-1. Curiously, here the streak of both countries began. 11 World Cups later, Lautaro Martínez keeps the Italian team's streak alive.

Only on one occasion did Inter Milan have representatives in the two finalists. This milestone was in the 1998 World Cup. Inter had Djorkaeff in France and Ronaldo in Brazil. The title went to the Frenchman.

Inter Milan footballers in finals since the 1982 World Cup

1982 – Italy 3-1 Alemania – Bergomi, Oriali, Altobelli, Bordon y Marini – (Campeones).

1986 – Argentina 3-2 Germany – Rummenigge – (Runner-up).

1990 – Germany 1-0 Argentina – Brehme, Matthäus and Klinsmann – (Champions).

1994 – Brazil 0-0 France (3-2 pen.) – Berti – (Runner-up).

1998 – France 3-0 Brazil – Djorkaeff (France) and Ronaldo (Brazil) – (runner-up and champion).

2002 – Brazil 2-0 Germany – Ronaldo – (Champion).

2006 – Italy 1-1 (5-3 pen.) – Materazzi – (Champion).

2010 – Spain 1-0 Netherlands – Sneijder – (Runner-up).

2014 – Germany 1-0 Argentina – Palacio – (Runner-up).

2018 – France 4-2 Croatia – Perišić and Brozović (Runner-up).

2022 – Argentina 3-3 (4-2 pen.) – Lautaro Martínez (Champion).

2026 – Spain vs. Argentina – Lautaro Martínez (To be defined).