World Cup final: Spain PM to attend, Argentina President to skip

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will attend the World Cup final to see his country take on reigning champions Argentina, his government said Friday.

Sanchez, a vocal critic of US President Donald Trump -- who also plans to attend Sunday's final in New Jersey -- will then travel to Algeria for an official visit, his cabinet told AFP.

Spain's King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and their two daughters will also attend the final, the royal palace has said.

Argentine President Javier Milei however plans to skip it, citing superstition.

Socialist leader Sanchez has long had tense ties with Trump, refusing to let the US military use Spanish bases for its war in Iran and condemning the American operation that ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.

Trump called Spain a "terrible partner in NATO" at an alliance summit in Turkey earlier this month and said the United States did not "want to do any trade business with Spain anymore".

Sanchez looked keen to smooth things over, telling a post-summit press conference that relations between the two countries were "positive".

He said he had held "an informal chat" with Trump about football during the summit and "there was absolutely no kind of tension".