Messi's Argentina face Spain's cool machine in World Cup final rich with personal twists

NEW YORK, July 17 : Argentina and Spain were supposed to settle a score in Qatar earlier this year, in the Finalissima between the champions of South America and Europe, before U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran forced the match to be cancelled. On Sunday in New Jersey, they will finally meet with rather more than ceremonial silverware at stake.The World Cup final offers football's grandest stage a deliciously odd pairing: Argentina, all pulse, fire and Lionel Messi, against Spain, the European champions who appear to treat chaos as an administrative error and have turned control into something close to an art form.It is South America v Europe, passion v precision, a match threaded with curious personal history, from the touchline to La Masia, where Barcelona's greatest graduate, Messi, will fac