The historic first 48-team FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, is set to reach its thrilling climax this Sunday, with two global football powerhouses — Lionel Messi’s Argentina and Spain — set to clash in the hotly anticipated final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. For Argentina, Sunday’s match carries a unique chance to make football history: the South American side is vying to become the first men’s national team to win consecutive World Cup titles since Brazil’s legendary 1962 squad. Spain, meanwhile, enters the final hunting its second ever World Cup crown, 16 years after the nation claimed its maiden title in 2010.
Beyond the race for the trophy, the final is widely expected to mark the last World Cup appearance for Messi, the 39-year-old Argentine icon universally regarded as the greatest player to ever step onto a football pitch. Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni has urged fans traveling to the stadium to savor every moment of seeing the generational talent lead his nation out onto the pitch. “He has made history. He is a legend,” Scaloni said of the former Barcelona star, who steered Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar four years prior. Throughout the 2026 tournament, Argentina has earned a reputation for its relentless, never-say-die fighting spirit: the side pulled off a dramatic comeback from a 2-0 deficit late in its round of 16 match against Egypt, before notching another last-gasp victory over England in the semi-finals to secure its spot in the final.
In stark contrast to Argentina’s dramatic path to the final, Spain’s campaign has been near-perfect. La Roja has conceded just one single goal across seven matches heading into Sunday, and earned a dominant semi-final win over France to book its place in the title decider. Spanish captain Rodri has warned his side to prepare for a physically intense battle, saying the team is ready to adapt its style of play to whatever challenges the match brings. “It will be a more physical one, and we must be prepared,” the midfielder noted. “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.”
A day before the final, the tournament’s bronze medal match delivered its own blockbuster entertainment, with England edging out France 6-4 in a high-scoring thriller to claim third place — England’s best finish at the World Cup since the side won the tournament on home soil in 1966. The match also saw Kylian Mbappe of France claim the record for most all-time goals in World Cup history, notching his 22nd goal to move one ahead of Messi. Mbappe currently leads the 2026 tournament’s Golden Boot race with 10 goals, two ahead of Messi, who can retake both the all-time scoring record and the top scorer title with a strong performance on Sunday. Despite the personal milestone, Mbappe made clear he would have traded the record for a spot in the final: “I would have preferred not to be the all-time top scorer and to be playing tomorrow’s match,” he said.
As the two finalists put the finishing touches on their preparations, an ongoing environmental disruption has made its presence felt across the eastern United States: thick, acrid smoke from rampant wildfires in Canada has drifted across the border, creating choking smog that has pushed air quality to dangerous levels across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. On Saturday, New York City briefly ranked as the most polluted major city on Earth, though meteorologists expect air quality conditions to improve significantly by the time the final kicks off.
Sunday’s final will draw a high-profile crowd of attendees, with US President Donald Trump set to be among the 80,000 fans packed into MetLife Stadium, marking his first match attendance of the entire tournament. He will be joined by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, meaning the leaders of all three co-hosting nations will be present for the historic occasion. The match will also feature a star-studded entertainment lineup unprecedented in World Cup history: Tom Cruise will feature in the pre-game closing ceremony, while global music superstars Madonna and Shakira will headline the first official halftime show in World Cup history.
In remarks ahead of the match, Trump hailed the 2026 tournament as an unprecedented success during a New York reception with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, calling it “the most successful sporting event, maybe in the history of the world.” Infantino echoed the praise, leaning into hyperbole to describe the expanded 48-team tournament, saying the event had “exceeded all expectations.” “This has not just been and is not just the greatest World Cup of all times,” Infantino said. “It is the greatest human, social, and cultural event that mankind has ever witnessed.”