AP:The best offence. The best defence.The World Cup final is set, and fittingly, a clash of styles awaits. Lionel Messi – the most prolific goal scorer in the tournament’s history – and defending champions Argentina will take on Spain’s defensive juggernaut on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.Spain beat France in one semi-final on Tuesday; Argentina, the comeback king of this tournament, rallied to beat England 2-1 in the other semi-final yesterday.Argentina are seeking their fourth title and are looking to become the first back-to-back World Cup champions since Brazil pulled off the feat in 1958 and 1962. Spain are looking for their second title, after winning in 2010.Argentina leads the tournament in goals scored – 19.Spain leads the tournament in fewest goals allowed – one.Something will have to give on Sunday, when the biggest World Cup ever – a 48-team, 104-match extravaganza spread out over the US, Canada, and Mexico – comes to an end.It’s not Finalissima. It’s going to be better.South American champions Argentina and European champions Spain were supposed to meet in Doha, Qatar, in late March in Finalissima, a showdown between the teams led by Messi and Lamine Yamal in a prequel of the World Cup.That game never happened. Security became an issue because of unrest in the Middle East, with Iran intensifying attacks on neighbouring countries at that time in retaliation to the aerial attacks by United States and Israel in a war that is still ongoing. The game was called off.So, instead of playing at Lusail Stadium, the site of the epic 2022 World Cup final where Messi and Argentina won on penalty kicks over France and Kylian Mbappé, they’ll play just outside of New York in football’s biggest game.It’ll be a showdown of football’s present versus football’s future, not to mention a showdown of the teams that held the top two spots in FIFA’s world rankings entering the World Cup – Argentina at No. 1, Spain at No. 2.There was a famous photo taken in 2007 when Messi was part of a UNICEF programme and posed with a baby.Yamal was that baby. Like Messi (who now plays for Inter Miami), Yamal would become a left-footed star for Spanish club Barcelona. It is the most improbable of stories: From a photo together two decades ago, the two stars are set to be together again to end this year’s World Cup.A picture-perfect finish.HOW SPAIN GOT HERE• Record: Six wins, one draw, zero losses.• Goals for: 13.• Goals against: 1.• Group stage: Drew with Cape Verde 0-0, beat Saudi Arabia 4-0, beat Uruguay 1-0.• Knockout stage: beat Austria 3-0, beat Portugal 1-0, beat Belgium 2-1, beat France 2-0.HOW ARGENTINA GOT HERE• Record: Seven wins, zero draws, zero losses.• Goals for: 19.• Goals against: 7.• Group stage: beat Algeria 3-0, beat Austria 2-0, beat Jordan 3-1.• Knockout stage: beat Cape Verde 3-2, beat Egypt 3-2, beat Switzerland 3-1, beat England 2-1.STREAKINGBoth teams enter the final with impressive unbeaten streaks.Spain are carrying a 37-match unbeaten streak across all competitions and friendlies into the final, having won 28 of those matches with nine draws. Their last loss was 1-0 to Colombia in March 2024.Argentina are unbeaten in their last 13 World Cup matches, with 11 victories and two draws since falling to Saudi Arabia to open group play at the 2022 tournament.THE ODDSSpain (+120) have been installed as the early favourites over Argentina (+275). Odds for a draw were quickly set at +200, and it’s reasonable to think all those numbers could change considerably before the title match-up.