As the 2026 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States heads toward its historic conclusion, two of football’s strongest national sides Argentina and Spain are wrapping up final preparations for Sunday’s championship match at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey — all while a thick, choking smog from Canadian wildfires hangs over much of the eastern U.S.
With only two matches left on the 104-game schedule for this expanded 48-team tournament, Saturday will first see the third-place playoff between 2022 runners-up France and European powerhouse England in Miami. Sunday’s main event, however, carries historic stakes for both finalists. Lionel Messi’s Argentina are chasing an unprecedented back-to-back World Cup title: if they win, they will become the first men’s side to defend the crown since Brazil’s legendary 1962 squad. For Spain, the match offers a chance to claim a second World Cup trophy, a decade and a half after their maiden win in South Africa in 2010.
The match is set to draw a high-profile crowd of over 80,000 spectators, including former U.S. President Donald Trump, who will attend his first World Cup match during the tournament. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also confirmed she would attend the final after accepting an invitation from Trump. On Friday, Trump hosted a reception for FIFA President Gianni Infantino at Trump Tower in New York, where he praised the 2026 tournament as the most successful sporting event “maybe in the history of the world.”
Infantino echoed the praise with equally enthusiastic remarks, saying the tournament has “exceeded all expectations.” “The American dream, Mr President, came to reality. We united the world,” Infantino proclaimed, going on to call the 2026 World Cup “the greatest human, social, and cultural event that mankind has ever witnessed.” He even joked that FIFA is “the official happiness provider to humanity,” to which Trump quipped back: “Unless your team loses.”
The upbeat celebration, however, has been overshadowed by poor air quality across the Northeast U.S. Uncontrolled wildfires burning across Canada have sent thick, acrid smoke drifting south across the U.S.-Canada border, forcing residents in major cities from New York to Washington D.C. and across the Midwest to stay indoors due to unsafe air pollution levels. Air quality tracker IQAir reported that at one point Saturday, New York City ranked as the most polluted major city in the world, just ahead of Toronto and the U.S. capital.
MetLife Stadium, located just across the Hudson River from New York in northern New Jersey, has not escaped the hazardous conditions. Early Saturday morning, New York’s iconic skyline was completely hidden by dense smog, with people venturing outdoors seen wearing protective face masks. Forecasters predict some relief may come via incoming heavy storms that could clear much of the smoke, but the weather system also carries risks of flash flooding and dangerous damaging winds.
Beyond the unusual environmental conditions, Sunday’s final is widely expected to be the last World Cup appearance for Argentina’s captain Lionel Messi, the 39-year-old Inter Miami forward who is widely regarded as the greatest men’s footballer of all time. Heading into the match, Messi is tied with France’s Kylian Mbappé for the tournament’s Golden Boot lead, both having scored eight goals. Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni urged fans to savor the chance to see Messi leading his side, calling him a legend who has already cemented his place in football history after leading Argentina to the 2022 Qatar World Cup title.
Argentina, a three-time World Cup champion, has displayed a gritty never-say-die attitude throughout the 2026 tournament, highlighted by a dramatic late comeback win over England in the semi-finals that booked their place in the final. In contrast, Spain has delivered an almost perfect run to the championship: La Roja has conceded just one single goal in seven matches on their way to the final, after a dominant semi-final win over France.
Spain captain Rodri said his side is preparing for a physical, hard-fought encounter with Argentina, and that the team has trained to adapt to whatever style of play Argentina brings. “It will be a more physical one, and we must be prepared,” he said. “But I believe that if we are known for something in this national team, it is that we know how to play different games based on the moment.”
Sunday’s final will also make World Cup history with its entertainment lineup: it will host the first ever standalone halftime show in World Cup final history, with A-list performers Madonna and Shakira set to take the stage after the first half. Hollywood star Tom Cruise will perform during the pre-game closing ceremony ahead of kickoff.
Looking ahead to Saturday’s third-place match, both beaten semi-finalists England and France are focused on ending their tournaments on a high note. England head coach Thomas Tuchel acknowledged that his side’s 2-1 last-minute semi-final defeat to Argentina left a lasting mark on the squad. “It is our scar that we carry now. It is a very painful defeat, and we have to live with this defeat,” he said. For France head coach Didier Deschamps, Saturday’s match will be his final game in charge of Les Bleus, and he pledged his side would play with pride, saying there would be no tears from his side ahead of the fixture.