The 2026 World Cup concludes on Sunday with a highly anticipated clash between defending champions Argentina and Spain in New Jersey, attended by US President Donald Trump and featuring a high-profile artistic show.

After 5 weeks of competition and 104 matches held in 3 countries (Mexico, United States, and Canada), and for the first time featuring 48 teams, the World Cup will finally reveal its champion.

Lionel Messi's Argentina seeks to become the first team to win two consecutive World Cups since Brazil in 1962, raising its tally to four, while Spain, with its young star Lamine Yamal, aims for its second title after winning its first in South Africa 2010.

It will be the only match of the tournament attended by Trump.

The announced artistic show matches the scale of an extraordinary World Cup: from Tom Cruise to Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira, and BTS, the MetLife Stadium near New York, which seats 80,000 spectators, will turn into a prestigious stage before and during the match, which kicks off at 19:00 GMT.

2026 World Cup final between Spain and Argentina

Tactically, Spain captain Rodri said he is preparing for a 'physical' battle with Argentina and will try to ignore any possible 'provocations.'

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni urged fans to enjoy watching Messi lead his team in another World Cup final at the age of 39.

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

Oldest vs. Youngest

Argentine Lionel Messi will become the oldest outfield player to appear in a World Cup final on Sunday, while Spain's Lamine Yamal seeks to join the elite of teenage World Cup winners.

The match will be the first meeting between Messi, Argentina's captain, and the player who succeeded him as the new darling of Barcelona's academy.

No outfield player has appeared in a World Cup final older than Messi, except for Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff, who was 40 in 1982.

In stark contrast, Yamal only turned 19 last Monday, one day before Spain beat France 2-0 in the semifinal.

Lamine Yamal now has a chance to join the select group of players who have won the World Cup as teenagers.

Messi said on Friday: 'He is a global icon at age 19, and he has a chance to achieve something historic, but we will do everything we can to stop him.'

At 19 years and 6 days, he will become the third youngest player to appear in a World Cup final, and his teammate Pau Cubarsí, six months older, is not far off.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente described Yamal during this World Cup as a 'genius' on par with (Spanish painter) Salvador Dalí or (Italian painter, poet, sculptor) Michelangelo.

Now Yamal hopes to shatter Messi's dream of winning the world champion title for the second time, thereby cementing his status as the next true global star in football.

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Remarkably, they face each other on Saturday, about two decades after a photo was taken of Messi, then 20 years old, participating in bathing five-month-old Yamal in a blue plastic tub as part of a UNICEF photo shoot.

Messi said: 'That photo is amazing.'

Former French star Thierry Henry, who won the World Cup at age 20, told Fox: 'Lamine Yamal against Leo Messi: that is the future against the past, the present, the future, and immortality.'