Argentina and Spain were supposed to meet earlier this year in Qatar in a "Finalissima" match between the South American and European champions, before US-Israeli strikes against Iran forced the game's cancellation.

On Sunday in New Jersey, the two teams will finally meet in a match where the stakes go beyond just a honorary cup.

The World Cup final takes place on the grandest football stage, and it will be a strange and exciting encounter: Argentina, with all its passion and brilliance led by Lionel Messi, against Spain, the European champion that seems to treat chaos as an administrative error, and has turned control of the game into an art form.

It will be a clash between South America and Europe, between passion and precision, in a match intertwined with intriguing personal stories, from the technical area to the La Masia academy, where Barcelona's greatest graduate, Messi, will face his rising rival Lamine Yamal, the academy's stunning young heir.

Argentina returns to the final four years after its emotional victory in Qatar, when Messi finally lifted the cup in a thrilling win over France. At that time, Messi was 35, and reaching another World Cup final seemed like a fantasy.

Now, at 39, he still defies time, toys with defenders, and challenges the odds.

Argentina's title defense campaign has not been smooth; it has felt like a grueling journey full of suffering. With 17 of the 26 players in the current squad having won the title in 2022, coach Lionel Scaloni's team reached the final after a difficult path, overcoming Cape Verde after extra time, and surviving nail-biting matches against Egypt, Switzerland, and England.

Argentina sometimes played like a team fighting with all its might and passion, driven by Messi's goals, assists, and magical touches. Every intervention added a new page to the never-ending debate over who is the greatest footballer in history: him or Brazil's Pelé.

If Argentina seems like Rocky Balboa, staggering after another round but still standing, Spain reached the final as a calm, cool-headed team that knows exactly where it's going and how to handle difficult situations.

Having kept its unbeaten record for 37 matches, Spain can win the World Cup for the second time after 2010, breaking the international unbeaten record set by Italy between 2018 and 2021. Spain arrived at the North American edition as bookmakers' favorites after winning the European Championship, and has largely acted like a team that views pressure not as a threat, but as a pre-scheduled appointment.

Spain's path seems carefully drawn, as if everything before the semi-finals was just a warm-up. Under coach Luis de la Fuente, who trained many of the squad players since their youth in Spain's junior teams, Spain has developed a level of collective understanding that can make opponents feel trapped in a beautifully lit room with no doors. France will understand that feeling well.

Spain's ability to possess and position can suffocate opponents, but this system also has touches of wild creativity, most of it coming from Lamine Yamal.

The winger, who amazed everyone at the European Championship at age 16, has spent his short career breaking age-related records and exceeding all expectations. Since his debut for Barcelona at age 15, comparisons have been drawn between him and the most famous La Masia graduate of all time, the man he will face on Sunday: Lionel Messi.

Also linking Messi and Lamine Yamal is one of the most widely circulated odd pictures in football: a photo of Messi, as a young Barcelona player, bathing the infant Lamine Yamal. What once seemed like a funny, striking picture has now become a fateful sign crafted by a screenwriter who loves ironies.

When Lamine's father was asked whether Messi's talent had transferred to Lamine that day, like a magical 'Midas touch,' he replied: 'Who says it wasn't the other way around?'

The connections are not limited to the pitch; they extend to the technical area as well. Scaloni will face De la Fuente, who supervised his coaching in a course by the Spanish Football Federation nearly ten years ago. Today, the student faces his teacher as they compete for the game's most prestigious title.

Circumstances may also play a role in determining the winner. The New Jersey pitch has not been kind to possession-based teams, with coaches and players complaining about its quality during the tournament. This could disrupt Spain's rhythm and open the door for Argentina to engage in the kind of disjointed, emotional match they excel at and enjoy.

Weather may add another dimension to the excitement. The day is expected to be hot and humid, with temperatures around 30°C, and this will be only the second game for Spain in an open stadium in this World Cup.

Meanwhile, smoke from wildfires in Canada has covered parts of the northeastern US and the Midwest with polluted and hazardous air, raising concerns with more than 80,000 spectators expected for the final.

For Spain, the task is to keep the match clean and under control, playing to their style. For Argentina, the task is to turn discomfort into theater once again.

At the heart of it all stands Messi, trying to ensure that what might be his last World Cup match does not end as a farewell, but as a final chapter of football genius.