After waning interest in recent weeks, New Yorkers returned to the World Cup atmosphere on Sunday to follow the final match scheduled in neighboring New Jersey, amid giant screens and parades of Argentina and Spain fans.

After the city had been blanketed for several days by pollution from Canadian wildfire smoke, New York regained a generally satisfactory level of air quality following violent thunderstorms that dispersed the smoke cloud.

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As is customary on the morning of each match day, Mayor Zahran Mamdani, a football fan, gave a briefing on weather and transportation, interspersed with football remarks. He was joined by Gary Lineker, the English football star of the 1980s, to express his admiration for Diego Maradona and his fear of Lionel Messi.

- Messi Everywhere -

The face of Argentine star Leo Messi appears throughout the city's streets, as thousands of 'Albiceleste' fans who flooded Times Square lift him up.

Florencia Lucchini, a 30-year-old Argentine dentist who came from Italy to attend the match, told AFP as she exited Grand Central Station that she feels 'nervous'.

She added, 'I love my country, it's the final, and maybe it's Messi's last... maybe today is our day, but I really don't know.'

A few meters away, a Spanish couple wearing the 'La Roja' shirt passed by. She deliberately turned her head the other way, saying, 'We ran into some of them, but I don't look at them... I stay focused.'

Not far away in Central Park, technicians were putting the finishing touches on a giant screen to broadcast the match, which will host 50,000 people in the famous Manhattan park.

Alessandra Petschler, a 30-year-old American of Spanish descent, said while waiting for a bus to the stadium, 'I feel extremely anxious.' Though she predicted a Spain victory '3-1'.

Many Americans' interest in the matches waned in recent days, especially after the national team's elimination by Belgium.

- Extremely High Prices -

Howie Ray (42) said, 'The event has faded a bit. I think there's a kind of fatigue after the group stage, then after the US elimination. Also, Spain and Argentina represent relatively modest immigrant communities in New York.' He had turned his attention to England after the US team's elimination.

The exorbitant prices for final match tickets, the highest ever for a sporting event in the United States, also deterred many fans. According to the site 'TickPick', the average ticket price was $11,327.

Howie Ray added, 'Many of my friends felt excluded throughout the tournament because ticket prices were simply out of their reach.'

Nevertheless, most New Yorkers got caught up in the excitement surrounding a sport that has grown in popularity even though it is still very marginal compared to other sports like basketball or baseball.

Nick Thomas, a 30-year-old American interviewed by AFP in Brooklyn, said, 'Every day it was enough to look around and see new jerseys from different countries. All that energy was very positive... Football is really growing in this country, and it's nice to see that.'

At the French café 'Café du Soleil' in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan, staff are preparing for a very busy afternoon, as about a hundred people have booked spots to watch the final.

Waiter Karim Malloum said, 'After the Knicks (New York basketball team crowned NBA champion) and the World Cup, everything will become quiet... I don't know what we'll do.'