Spain and Argentina prepared for Sunday’s World Cup final in New Jersey, with organisers keeping a close watch on wildfire smoke drifting over parts of the United States.
The wildfire drifting to the U.S. from Canada has forced President Donald Trump to threaten to slam another round of tariff on Canada.
However, attention is fully focused on football and how Spain, described as clean and calm regarding their play, battled Argentina with their chaotic last minute dominance to overcome teams.
Lionel Messi’s Argentina are chasing a feat unmatched since Brazil in 1962 – winning back-to-back World Cups – while Spain aim for a second title following their maiden triumph in 2010.
The two nations have met 14 times, with their only prior World Cup meeting coming in 1966, a 2-1 win for Argentina.
Spain’s heaviest win came in a 6-1 friendly romp in 2018, while Argentina’s biggest margin was a 4-1 win in 2010; most recent meetings, though, have been decided by a single goal.
Spain captain Rodri, the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner, braced for a physical contest, warning that Sunday’s final “will be quite different” from anything his side has faced so far.
He credited Spain’s versatility – the ability to defend, counter, or attack depending on the moment – as the reason they have reached the final, and shrugged off questions about possible Argentine “provocations” as simply part of the game.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni urged fans to savour watching Messi, 39, lead his country into another final, calling him “a legend” who has “made history.”
He pointed to Messi’s role in ending Argentina’s 28-year trophy drought with the 2021 Copa América win, admitted he could not say for certain whether Sunday would be Messi’s last World Cup appearance, and praised Spain as a side that worries him in “everything” they do.
Spain reached the final on the back of a 2-0 semi-final win over France, having eliminated Austria, Portugal and Belgium earlier in the knockouts while conceding just once all tournament.
Argentina’s route was far bumpier, repeatedly needing late goals to survive – including a 92nd-minute winner against England in the semi-final after twice having to come from behind.
Beyond the tactics, Rodri’s comments underlined Spain’s belief that composure, not just talent, has carried them through the tournament nearly unscathed – a contrast to Argentina’s habit of finding late, chaotic salvation, echoing the “calm meets chaos” framing of Sunday’s contest.
Messi enters the final as the World Cup’s second leading scorer with 21 goals, eight of them this tournament, and will become the oldest outfield player ever to feature in a final.
Kylian Mbappé scored a brace on Saturday to lead the all-time leading scorer table with 22 goals.
Scaloni said instructing Messi felt almost unnecessary given his standing in the game, reserving special praise for how Messi has carried Argentina’s golden generation.
Messi himself described Wednesday’s semi-final win over England as “pure history.”
Spain’s 19-year-old Lamine Yamal will face Messi in a moment two decades in the making. The pair were photographed together in 2007, when a 20-year-old Messi helped bathe a five-month-old Yamal during a UNICEF calendar shoot; both are now UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors.
Messi called the coincidence “incredible,” praising Yamal as a “global icon” while insisting Argentina would do everything to stop him.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente likened Yamal’s ability to that of “a genius” on a par with Dalí or Michelangelo, while teammate Mikel Merino admitted he initially mistook the old photo for an AI fake.
De la Fuente also recalled facing a Messi-driven Barcelona side scoring four goals in 15 minutes while he coached Sevilla’s youth teams.
Only three nations have successfully defended a World Cup title – Italy in 1938, Brazil in 1962, and France came agonisingly close in 2022 before losing to Argentina on penalties.
Argentina now has the chance to join that short list, needing to get past a Spain side that has been the tournament’s most defensively watertight team.
Scaloni’s message to supporters remained simple: enjoy the moment, whatever Sunday brings, given everything Messi and this Argentina generation have already achieved.