Sunday night’s World Cup final in New York pits the holders, and champions of South America, against Europe’s top side.
It is a meeting of two of the great football nations with one obvious subplot: can Lionel Messi take a second World Cup winners’ medal to further embellish his greatness?
Or will he have his thunder stolen by Lamine Yamal, the wunderkind who Messi apparently anointed as his heir in a baby bathtub years ago, captured forever in one amazing photograph.
Even apart from that standout showdown, there are plenty of intriguing talking points besides.
Majestic Rodri
Will Real Madrid have to boycott the Ballon d’Or ceremony if Spain win the World Cup? Possibly, seeing as it will give Rodri the chance of winning that prize again.
The first time he did so, back in 2024, the giant club from Spain’s capital stropped off because he had been favoured over their Vinicius Junior.
Rodri’s body of work at club level means he is an outsider for the individual gong this time around. Injury disrupted his Premier League campaign, and was likely a significant reason behind Manchester City missing out on the title.
But he has been a class apart at this World Cup so far, the heartbeat of a Spain side who will start the final as favourites
Midfield battle
Attack wins you games, defence wins you championships. So goes the adage attributed to the great Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson.
Which might well be true, but ignores the fact that most matches are won in midfield, which is where the final will be decided. It is a delicious clash of contrasts. Spain worship possession, and regard having to make a tackle as some sort of failing.
Argentina are the polar opposite. Until the point they went behind in their semi-final against England, they had spent almost all of the game tackling, making late cheap shots, and winding up their great rivals.
And then they showed just how constructive they can be. They had an extraordinary 88 per cent of possession from the moment Anthony Gordon put England 1-0 up until they had completed their stunning late turnaround with a stoppage time header by Lautaro Martinez.
Even Spain struggle to boast quite such dominance of the ball as that, although it is safe to assume they will set the tempo in the final – at least in the early exchanges.
Argentina beat England – in pictures
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Lautaro Martinez celebrates with Lionel Messi after scoring Argentina's second goal in their 2-1 World Cup semi-final win over England in Atlanta. EPA -
Lionel Messi celebrates after Argentina's second goal by Lautaro Martinez. AFP -
Dejected England midfielder Jude Bellingham after the match. Reuters -
Lautaro Martinez celebrates scoring Argentina's second goal. Reuters -
Argentina's Lautaro Martinez heads home their second goal. Reuters -
Argentina's Lautaro Martinez heads home to make it 2-1. EPA -
Argentina's Enzo Fernandez celebrates after scoring. EPA -
Argentina's Enzo Fernandez makes it 1-1. Reuters -
England's Anthony Gordon celebrates scoring. Reuters -
England's Anthony Gordon scores in the 55th minute. Reuters -
England's Anthony Gordon scores past Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. Reuters -
England's Jude Bellingham is challenged by Leandro Paredes of Argentina. AFP -
England midfielder Elliot Anderson is held back by teammate Anthony Gordon as he clashed with Argentina's Lisandro Martinez, Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi, and Leandro Paredes. Reuters -
England's Elliot Anderson competes for the ball against Enzo Fernandez of Argentina. AFP -
Argentina's defender Lisandro Martinez argues with Jude Bellingham of England. AFP
Not bowing to provocation
On the topic of what might politely be termed gamesmanship by the Argentine, will the Spanish be less susceptible to being distracted by it?
The speed at which they move the ball makes it feel likely the Argentine players will find it harder to get close to their players than they managed against England.
Aymeric Laporte, Spain’s former Al Nassr defender, warned that they will still be aiming to leave their mark, and hopes the referee – Slovenian Slavco Vincic – is suitably vigilant.
“If it's within the rules and the referee does their job, I have no problem with it,” Laporte said ahead of the final. “It is true, however, that in recent matches we've seen things that really surprised us – actions that were allowed to slide.
“Especially with Argentina. They're a team that likes to leave a mark on their opponents. That sort of thing shouldn't be allowed in football – particularly in major competitions – because it can unsettle you and make you angry.”
World Cup Finalissima
It was good of Fifa to find a way to replay a fixture that had to be cancelled back in March because of the onset of war in the Middle East.
The Finalissima is a fixture that takes place every four years between the winner of the South American and European championships. It was scheduled to take place between Argentina and Spain in Qatar, but fell through because of the Iran conflict.
Instead, they will meet four months later in the World Cup final. It is the first time the fixture will pit together the reigning champions of South America and Europe.
The cancelled game in Lusail had been touted as being the first meeting between Messi and Yamal.
Now that clash of the old and new titans will instead take place on the biggest stage of all. Luis de la Fuente, the Spain coach, has confirmed Yamal is fit despite sitting out training after their semi-final win against France.
War of attrition … for everyone
Get ready for a long night. There will be the now standard advert/hydration breaks in each half.
The midgame intermission will double in duration because of all the Super Bowl-style half-time show nonsense.
No doubt every tackle will be disputed. With the elongated half time, players will likely show signs of fatigue, meaning cramp delays are probable.
Argentina’s players must be running on fumes already: their emotional semi-final win was the first time they had not been taken to extra-time in the knockout phase.
Plus, four of the last five World Cup finals have gone to extra time. The sides are so closely matched – Argentina and Spain are first and second respectively in Fifa’s world rankings – it seems probably an additional 30 minutes, and then even spot kicks, could be required to split them.
