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As all eyes across the globe will be at New York’s MetLife Stadium on Sunday (9pm), where the defending champions Argentina will be entertaining European champions, Spain, in what promises to be a mouth-watering World Cup final, we highlight some interesting facts about this epic decider.
- For the first time in the event’s history, this World Cup final will have a 30-minute Super Bowl-style halftime show, where superstars such as Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira, BTS and Burna Boy will entertain the crowd. This means Fifa will be in breach of its standard 15-minute halftime break time. The Super Bowl-style halftime concert required the physical removal of 1,740 corner seats at MetLife Stadium to widen the playing surface for a soccer field.
- Spain and Argentina last faced off in an international friendly on March 27 in 2018 at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, where Spain thumped the South Americans 6-1. All in all, these powerhouses of world football have faced each other 14 times across international fixtures, with each side winning six times while two fixtures ended in draws.
- Spain and Argentina have only met once before in World Cup history, a group stage clash in 1966 that Argentina won 2-1.
- This decider is a matchup of reigning continental champions as both Spain (Europe) and Argentina (South America) won the last editions of their continental championships.
- This final also pits 39-year-old Barcelona legend and one of the greatest footballers of all-time Lionel Messi against a youngster perceived as an heir to his throne, Yamine Yamal, who is 19. The duo’s history dates back nearly two decades, when the then 20-year-old Messi first crossed paths with an infant Yamal during a promotional charity photo shoot in Barcelona. Yamal has been vocal about his admiration for Messi.
Sowetan
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