East Rutherford (United States) (AFP) - Lionel Messi’s battle-hardened Argentina take on slick-passing Spain in Sunday’s World Cup final as the first 48-team tournament in history reaches a climax.

The South Americans are striving to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cups, while Spain are eyeing a second title after their maiden victory in 2010.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires that had choked skies over the eastern United States in recent days had cleared by Sunday morning, replaced by blue skies.

Fans turned Madrid red and yellow, packing squares and bars, while thousands of blue-and-white-clad Argentina fans thronged New York.

The showpiece at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford is likely to be the final World Cup appearance for Messi, widely considered the greatest player of all time.

US President Donald Trump will be among the 80,000-strong crowd in New Jersey – the first match he has attended in the tournament.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will also attend, meaning the leaders of all three host nations will be present.

A galaxy of A-list stars will perform, from Tom Cruise in the pre-game closing ceremony to Madonna and Shakira in the half-time show – the first in World Cup history.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has urged fans to make the most of seeing diminutive genius Messi lead out his team at the age of 39.

“He has made history. He is a legend,” Scaloni said of the former Barcelona player, who helped Argentina win the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

Argentine dentist Florencia Luzinin, 30, was among thousands of fans in New York.

“It’s probably the last of Messi, so maybe it’s our day. I don’t know. We came across a few Spaniards but I don’t look at them,” she told AFP.

- Argentina attitude -

The three-time champions have shown an astonishing never-say-die attitude during the 2026 tournament.

They recovered from 2-0 down in the closing stages against Egypt in the last 16 and mounted another dramatic comeback in the final minutes of their semi-final against England.

Spain, on the other hand, have been almost flawless, conceding just a single goal in their seven matches so far and sweeping past France in the semi-finals, building momentum with each match.

Captain Rodri said he was bracing for a “physical” battle and would aim to ignore any possible “provocations”.

In the richly talented 19-year-old Lamine Yamal, Spain have the player tipped to one day inherit the mantle of the world’s best – but their strength in this tournament has been their collective play, not individual performances.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has hailed the team’s unity.

The Socialist leader, who will attend the match alongside King Felipe VI, said the players embodied “solidarity and team spirit” as well as technical ability.

On Saturday, England beat France 6-4 in a high-scoring thriller to seal third place – their best finish since they won the tournament in 1966.

Kylian Mbappe became the competition’s all-time leading scorer with 22 goals – one ahead of Messi, who can reclaim the record on Sunday.

The France hotshot is on 10 goals for the 2026 tournament, two ahead of Messi in the race for the Golden Boot.

Trump has hailed the tournament as “the most successful sporting event, maybe in the history of the world”.

The build-up to the event was dominated by fears over sky-high prices, geopolitical tensions and concerns that brutal summer heat would make matches unplayable.

But the biggest, most complex edition of football’s showpiece ever staged – been expanded from 32 teams to 48 for the first time – will be remembered for thrilling football and a feel-good factor.

According to FIFA figures released before Saturday’s third-place playoff, the tournament had attracted 6,665,825 spectators – more than the combined total of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Average attendance was 65,351 per match, with a stadium occupancy rate of 99.7 percent.