The World Cup final between Spain and Argentina arrived with all the trappings of a global spectacle, part football match, part concert, part celebrity gathering, before a ball was even kicked at MetLife Stadium.
The closing ceremony opened with a performance from the Brooklyn United Music and Arts band, before FIFA favourite IShowSpeed took to the stage lip syncing his song “Champions”. Rapper Post Malone followed in double denim and a cream cowboy hat, wearing a T-shirt reading “just hope both teams have fun”, before being joined by Swae Lee for a rendition of “Sunflower”. American tenor Christopher Macchio then delivered an operatic version of “America the Beautiful” ahead of kickoff.
The celebrity presence extended well beyond the stage. Tom Cruise appeared in a pre-match segment holding the tournament’s golden match ball, before actor Tom Holland delivered a dramatic monologue of his own. NBA figures Draymond Green, Karl-Anthony Towns and James Harden were among those in attendance, alongside NFL star Odell Beckham Jr, boxing legend Mike Tyson, who arrived in an Argentina shirt, and New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, who backed Spain despite admitting it was “really hard to go against Messi”. Basketball star Caitlin Clark said she would be “cheering hard” for Argentina, adding simply, “I want Messi.”
Behind the spectacle, the football carried its own storylines. Argentina’s defensive trio of Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez and Nahuel Molina, known within the squad as the “banda del palo santo”, carried out their now familiar pre-match ritual involving holy water and the aromatic wood palo santo, a routine born after Argentina’s shock 2022 defeat to Saudi Arabia, when Martinez suggested burning it to clear bad energy. Lionel Messi has previously admitted to finding the ritual, and Romero’s lighter, once confiscated by Miami airport security, a source of amusement.
Messi himself returned to MetLife Stadium carrying personal history. It was here a decade ago that he suggested his Argentina career might be over after a missed penalty in the 2016 Copa America final defeat to Chile. He returned regardless, going on to win two further Copa America titles, the 2022 Finalissima and the World Cup in Qatar, and now walks out at 39 chasing a second World Cup star.
At the other end of the age scale, Spain’s Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi became the third and fourth youngest players to start a World Cup final, at 19 years and six days, and 19 years and 178 days respectively, behind only Pele in 1958 and Giuseppe Bergomi in 1982. According to Opta, the gap of more than two decades between Messi and Yamal makes this the first World Cup final in history to feature starting players separated by such an age difference.
Spain arrived at the final having overcome a stuttering start to the tournament, an opening goalless draw against debutants Cape Verde that raised early questions about their ability to convert possession into goals. Those doubts have long since faded, though history offered reassurance regardless. Argentina lost their opening match four years ago before winning the tournament, while Spain themselves began their triumphant 2010 campaign with a defeat to Switzerland.
Elsewhere, former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp confirmed live on Magenta TV that he had reached an agreement to become Germany’s next head coach. “I’ve reached an agreement with Red Bull, a very generous arrangement, so there’s nothing really standing in the way anymore,” Klopp said. “After the final, we’ll fly back to Germany with the aim of getting everything sorted as quickly as possible.”
Argentina named three changes to their starting lineup for the final, with Emiliano Martinez, Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez and Nicolas Tagliafico making up the defence in a 4-4-2 shape behind Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister and Nicolas Gonzalez, with Messi partnering Julian Alvarez in attack.
