NEW YORK — The final day of a summer of FIFA World Cup fever in North America, and the last of 104 matches, has finally arrived, as the world’s top two ranked national teams — Spain and Argentina — will kick off at 3 p.m. Eastern time for the right to lift the sport’s most coveted trophy.

A crowd of 80,000 people is expected to pack into the stands of MetLife Stadium in New Jersey just outside of New York City, where the cheapest tickets were going for nearly $10,000 on secondary market sites.

For days, wildfire smoke had swept over New York. Then a downpour on Saturday and a flash flood alert. But by Sunday morning, with a sunny forecast calling for clear skies and a high of 80 degrees at kickoff, all of that was in the rearview mirror.

For Spain, a win would mark a meteoric rise for a young and thrilling squad and their 19-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal, who despite an injury to his quad earlier this spring, has flashed greatness throughout the tournament.

Spain has beaten three of the world’s top-ten teams to reach the final — first a 1-0 win over No. 5 Portugal, then a 2-1 quarterfinal win over No. 9 Belgium, and most impressive, a 2-0 win in the semifinal over No. 3 France, whose attack had looked unstoppable until then. Spain has conceded only one goal in their seven World Cup games so far.

Meanwhile, for Argentina, a win would cap a historic and dominant era that has included the 2022 World Cup title, two Copa América trophies and the 2022 Finalissima — all while the team has been led by the global megastar Lionel Messi. “They are an excellent opponent, an excellent national team that has had a spectacular run over the last eight or 10 years since this group came together,” said Spain’s coach Luis de la Fuente on Friday.

Argentina’s road to New York has been paved with improbable wins, one after another. In none of their four knockout games did Argentina hold the lead when the clock reached 90 minutes. Twice they have escaped with a stoppage time game-winner; twice they have escaped after going ahead in extra time.

Lionel Messi of Argentina speaks on stage at a fan event in New York City on Friday before Sunday’s FIFA World Cup Final between Spain and Argentina.

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At 39 years old, Messi’s performance in this World Cup has been nothing short of unbelievable: His eight goals and four assists — including assists on both crucial late-game goals in the heart-stopping semifinal against England — put him in second place behind only France’s Kylian Mbappé. He scored twice in Saturday’s bronze medal loss to England and now has ten goals. 

Key Facts

CRUCIAL QUOTE

“Our constituents are breathing the consequences of this failure right now, and they deserve better than to be told, again, that it will be handled,” the Michigan lawmakers said in their letter.

HOW TO STAY SAFE FROM WILDFIRE SMOKE

Those in states with extreme air quality warnings are being cautioned to limit outdoor activity and, in states with very unhealthy and hazardous warnings, to stay inside altogether with windows closed. Doctors advise anyone with heart or lung disease to stay indoors, and other groups to take precautions. For people who work outside, health officials have recommended wearing an N95 mask, which can filter at least 95% of airborne particles.

WHY IS WIldFIRE SMOKE SO DANGEROUS?

Smoke from wildfires is made of water vapor, pollutants and particulate matter, which can penetrate the lungs and bloodstream, trigger systemic inflammation, exacerbate conditions like asthma and increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Smoke also contains a mix of harmful gases, most notably carbon monoxide. Wildfire smoke has been linked to respiratory and cardiovascular health problems, with children and teenagers, older adults, pregnant people and anyone with pre-existing heart or lung conditions at a particular risk.

SHOULD PEOPLE IN WILDFIRE SMOKE STATES WEAR A MASK?

When the Air Quality Index rises to unhealthy levels, masks are recommended for people who must spend time outside. Respirator masks worn correctly may provide some protection against fine particles in the smoke, but they do not help with hazardous gases. Staying inside is considered the safest option, but those who must go outside can mitigate some risk by wearing a mask. N95 or P100 respirators are considered the most effective.

Key background

Scientists say climate change is creating hotter, drier conditions and longer fire seasons, increasing the likelihood of large, intense wildfires across North America. NASA says human-caused warming is driving more frequent and severe wildfire conditions in many regions, and that extreme wildfire activity has more than doubled worldwide over the past two decades. Research shows fire seasons in some areas are now more than a month longer than they were 35 years ago, and those larger fires also produce more smoke, allowing hazardous air pollution to travel hundreds or even thousands of miles and affect millions of people far from the flames.

BIG NUMBER

$394 billion to $893 billion. That’s the annual cost of wildfires in the United States each year, according to the Joint Economic Committee, including direct and indirect deaths and injuries, health impacts from wildfire smoke, income loss, watershed pollution and other factors.

further reading

ForbesEntire States Under Air Quality Alerts As Wildfire Smoke Spreads—Here’s Where It Could Go NextBy Mary Whitfill RoeloffsForbesGlobal Air Quality Declines As Wildfires Surge Across ContinentsBy Jamie Hailstone

After Medicaid officials improperly shared data about millions of people in January with immigration officials, ICE then shared that data with the data analytics firm Palantir, according to new court filings. Palantir operates an app called ELITE that is used by ICE agents to show the addresses of noncitizens who may be subject to deportation.

That revelation was made public in a motion filed Thursday by more than 20 Democratic attorneys general who sued the Trump administration last year over its data-sharing agreement between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and ICE.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in California ruled in December that health officials could share with ICE certain details from Medicaid data about immigrants without lawful status from the states that had sued, such as home addresses, dates of birth and immigration status.

Chhabria, who was appointed by former President Obama, then temporarily paused data sharing between CMS and ICE for immigration enforcement purposes in late May after federal officials admitted CMS had shared data with ICE in January that went beyond what the court order allowed. One dataset of refugees in Minnesota included U.S. citizens, and another that was transferred on Jan. 7 contained data of millions of people, including those in the country legally.

ICE was supposed to delete the improperly shared data. Chhabria set a hearing for August to further clarify his order and clear up ambiguity regarding which categories of noncitizens’ data could be lawfully shared with ICE.

But in recent days, federal officials have admitted to additional instances of improper data sharing.

In a court filing last week, the Justice Department said that CMS again inadvertently reshared with ICE the dataset with millions of names that CMS had first improperly shared with ICE in January. The government said the error occurred during an effort to share data from states not involved in the lawsuit.