Key events
Thank you very much for joining us.
Head over to the match blog with the one and only Rob Smyth. Enjoy the game!
Andy Pye on Cookie Monster and Elmo: “Just wondering how many people screenshotted that photo and sent on saying that ‘Trump and Infantino had just arrived’? I was one of them.”
Simon Rimmer writes: “ITV pre-match and BBC for the game itself. Cannot listen to Matterface and Dixon.”
Paul Howarth says: “In regarding commentary, I’ll start with ITV, if it’s Sam Mattterface and Lee Dixon wittering on about irrelevant facts [like they did on the Norway game] I’ll turn over.”
Justin Kavanagh emails: “I have an Argentina shirt in my basement that was handed to me ten minutes after that goal by Dennis Bergkamp put them out of the ‘98 WC in Marseille. A tearful, mustachioed Argentinian had spent the previous 85 minutes telling me that the South Americans could not lose because of his “magic shirt.” Now, he sobbed, “the magic is gone.” And funnily enough, the two times I’ve worn it, they’ve lost. So, I’ll keep it in the drawer today, in the interests of fairness. But I have the Malbec and steak ready for 6 o’clock.”
That is commitment to the cause.
An Argentina fan in Naples with ‘MARADONA 10’ tattooed on his back. Photograph: Matteo Ciambelli/Reuters You will all be pleased to know that my job for later is comparing and contrasting the UK TV coverage because the game will be shown on ITV and BBC. Who are you backing?
Avram Grant in da house.
The former West Ham head coach Avram Grant joins the party. Photograph: Ryan Pierse/FIFA/Getty Images Mark van Raaij emails: “In staying with the “referee will favour Argentina” theme: first booking for Rodri, second minute.”
Have to admire that in the previous photo Swansea, Bolton and Blackburn are all represented.
Fernando Llorente is rightly front and centre.
Xavi Hernández, David Villa, Fernando Llorente, Fernando Hierro, Iker Casillas and Míchel Salgado pose before the match. Photograph: Arturo Holmes/FIFA/Getty Images England are represented at the final …
John Terry arrives. Photograph: Arturo Holmes/FIFA/Getty Images Gary Stover on the first booking: “Tagliafico 10th minute.”
Does anyone have any rituals for a match where they have no skin in the game? I am debating opening Rioja or Malbec later to give my backing to one of the sides. What should I go for?
I’d quite like to do a sweepstake on the first booking. I would go for Lisandro Martinez in the 17th minute.
Things are getting lively in New York.
Spanish fans in Times Square. Photograph: Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock Argentina fans with an alien lifeform. Photograph: Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock Andrew Beasley
double quotation mark Spain look unstoppable. Their 2-0 victory against France meant they have not lost a game in normal or extra time for 37 matches, which Opta revealed has equalled the best such stretch by a European team. However, Spain did lose the final of the 2025 Nations League to Portugal on penalties.
Like with all big American sporting events, it will be a night for being seen. I am not convinced I would have a pint with any of the celebrity guests but I am happy to change my opinion.
Mission Impossible for Argentina?
Tom Cruise walks into the stadium in New Jersey. Photograph: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images I am still not convinced they are going to sell many Lamine Yamal or Lionel Messi scarves today in Madrid.
Merchandise on the streets of Madrid. Photograph: Alejandro Martinez Velez/Reuters Departing France coach Didier Deschamps decided to end his 14-year spell in the role because of a “stifling atmosphere” around him, he said on Saturday, following Les Bleus’ 6-4 loss to England in the third-place match at the World Cup.
Deschamps announced last year that he would leave when his contract expired after the tournament. “I decided that it had to stop. And if I made that decision, it wasn’t for my own sake – I’m telling you this in all honesty – it was for the good of the French team“, he told M6. “Because the atmosphere around me had become so stifling. The French national team doesn’t deserve that.“
Deschamps was sometimes criticised for favouring balance, discipline and efficiency over spectacle, even when blessed with some of the most gifted attacking players in world football.
“Ever since the announcement, things have been much better for the French team,” he added.
Deschamps, who took charge in 2012, will be remembered as the coach who led France to their second world title in 2018, two decades after captaining them on the field to their first, hosted on home soil. AFP
All the big names are arriving for the match.
Cookie Monster and Elmo attend the final. Photograph: Héctor Vivas/FIFA/Getty Images Not long to go now. Not many Spain or Argentina shirts knocking about on my travels today.
That, then, is it from me. Enjoy the game and I’ll see you to dissect it and everything else we’ve experienced over the last 17 weeks at 8am BST tomorrow. For now, though, Will Unwin is back to coax you closer to kick-off.
It’s almost time for me, so looking ahead to the final, I’m going for a 2-0 Spain win. I don’t think Argentina can live with them in midfield and also don’t see how Nicolás Tagliafico stops Lamine Yamal. I guess, if Scaloni’s men start quickly, they might force an opening goal, but if they don’t, how do they impose their game? My guess is they don’t, and I’d not be surprised if, as they tire, Spain bring on Pedri and Nico Williams, then pull away. It remains the case, though, that with Messi anything is possible.
With Lionel Messi, anything is possible. Photograph: Sudipta Das/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Matt Hughes
More from New York…
US Secret Service staff are conducting individual body and bag searches of every fan attending the World Cup final leading to concerns that all of the 82,500 ticket holders may not get into the ground before kickoff.
Defending champions Argentina’s meeting with Spain at the New York/New Jersey Stadium has been designated as a National Special Security Event due to the attendance of US President Donald Trump, with the highest level of security measures put in place.
A US Secret Service agent told The Guardian that every fan will be searched as well as being subject to airport-style security. Thousands of US Secret Service agents are on duty with helicopters flying overhead five hours before kickoff.
“Everyone will be thoroughly searched,” one agent said. “It’s going to be an interesting day.”
A huge line of matchday operational and media staff had begun queuing to get into the stadium at 8am, with the crowd swelling to around ten thousands by the time the gates opened at 9am.
All staff were funnelled through one entrance, with just two stewards employed to scan accreditation passes before a further queue to access six airport scanners followed by the individual body searches.
Celebrities were not spared the searches with Jürgen Klopp, who is working as a pundit for German streaming service Magenta before replacing Julian Nagelsmann as Germany coach at the end of the World Cup, among those resigned to spending hours in the queue.
Most fans who have paid thousands of dollars to attend, with some tickets still being listed for sale at $34,500 yesterday, have yet to arrive but will face lengthy queues.
Trump is due to arrive on his helicopter, Marine One, in the hour before kick-off with his attendance at the final where he will present the trophy to the winning team adding complications to what was already a logistically challenging event for Fifa.
The New York/New Jersey Stadium is famously inaccessible, a problem compounded by the fact that the price of New Jersey transit trains from Manhattan have been increased to $98, which will add to traffic congestion.
Members of the media and staff queue to enter the stadium. Photograph: John Sibley/Reuters The MetLife will, I imagine, be full of Argentina, the extent to which their support give them strength not to be underestimated. In theory, the game is the game wherever it’s played, but humans don’t work like that, and the backing Scaloni’s men get clearly lifts them.
Times Square yesterday…
Photograph: Ryan Murphy/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: John Sibley/Reuters Another of our men on the ground…
Photograph: Bluesky Potential delays to get into the MetLife Stadium
Matt Hughes
US Secret Service staff are conducting individual body and bag searches of every fan attending the World Cup final leading to concerns that all of the 82,500 ticket-holders may not get into the ground before kick-off.
Defending champions Argentina’s meeting with Spain at the New York New Jersey Stadium has been designated as a National Special Security Event due to the attendance of the US president, Donald Trump, with the highest level of security measures put in place.
Members of the media and staff queue to enter New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday – but there is concern fans could face delays. Photograph: John Sibley/Reuters I’d like to add a cult hero, if I may: Pico Lopes.
Something to read on the great man. I can’t think of many whose top level was higher or who changed the game so profoundly.
I think it’s also worth noting the extent to which Spanish footballing culture pervades the grass-roots game around the world; along with Ronaldinho, who integrated freestyle trickery and attitude into the elite level, it is the biggest influence on the modern style.
“A week ago, France were the greatest side ever seen in a World Cup,” says Gary Stover. “Anybody think Hall or Shaw would have been better than Spence? Anybody think Foden or Palmer would have saved England v Argentina? Maybe someone who’s currently having to make things work on the pitch, say Emma Hayes, has a better understanding of today’s game. Born in England, made in the USA, she sees first hand how the attitudes of me first, team second have slowed the development of both.”
I don’t think it’s right to say Hayes was made in the USA – she was already an all-timer before she moved. But yes, I agree that Shaw and Hall are both better than the left-backs taken ahead of them.
I advocated for this before Argentina played England, and they didn’t do it, but can they really afford to take on Spain with a midfield two? I’d get Lautaro into a tight front three with Simeone dropping out, then a narrow trio behind them and the full-backs tasked with supplying width.
“I’m wary of disagreeing with Emma Hayes,” writes David Wall, “but i think she’s wrong about the importance of individuals to Spain. Spain have been hindered in this tournament because Williams has barely been able to play and Lamine Yamal has been half-fit for a lot of it. The replacements for them are simply not up to their class and impact. Perhaps in terms of creating passing angles and retaining possession it’s not important which individuals are playing as almost all of the Spanish players do that by habit. But it’s just not true to say that particular individuals don’t make a significant difference to how they play and how effective they are.”
I don’t think someone who’s managed so many brilliant individuals doesn’t think the best of them can determine the outcome of games. Rather, Spain rely on a style, inculcated from young and through the age-groups, in a way other countries do not.
I did, though, love Promise David’s effort for Canada against Switzerland. Feels a long, long time ago , that.
What’s your goal of the tournament? I don’t actually think this one is close…
…given the circumstances, it can only be Sidny Lopes Cabral.
“The never ending introspection after England go out of a major tournament is the gift that keeps on giving,” says Niall Mullen. “What does the Peasant’s Revolt tell us about our inability to keep the ball under pressure? Do the Corn Laws mean we’ll never truly thrive in a positionally inflexed modern game etc.? All of this disappears if various penalties down the years aren’t missed, if Gazza doesn’t slow down in 1996, or if Jordan Pickford was a step to his right and had slightly longer arms on Wednesday night. The psychoanalysis of a nation based on the bounce of a ball is obviously absurd, but it is hugely entertaining. So please keep it coming.”
The problem, ultimately is the unwritten constitution. England won’t win anything until Parliament passes a bill of rights.
More on Will’s post below about Messi bathing Lamine Yamal. Great work, you have to say.
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