Puri (Odisha) [India], July 19 (ANI): Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has created an 8-foot-high sand sculpture of the FIFA World Cup 2026 trophy, featuring the national flags of Spain and Argentina along with the message, 'FIFA World Cup 2026 - Good Luck For Final,' at Puri beach in Odisha ahead of the Argentina vs Spain final on Monday (IST).

Sudarsan Pattnaik has also sculpted Lionel Messi, one of football's greatest icons, with the message 'We Love MESSI.' Nearly 7 tons of sand were used to create the sculpture, with students from his sand art institution joining hands to complete the sculpture.

Speaking to ANI, Pattnaik said the 8-foot-high sand sculpture of the FIFA World Cup trophy was created to wish Spain and Argentina good luck ahead of the final, adding that the whole world is eagerly awaiting the title clash and that the artwork at Puri Beach conveys his best wishes to both teams.

'Good luck for the FIFA World Cup final. We have created this 8-ft-high sand sculpture of the golden trophy, the trophy the whole world is waiting to see who will lift. This time, we have created this special sculpture with the message, 'Good Luck.' We wish both teams all the best for this final match. The whole world is waiting for it, and many tourists visit Puri Beach, so we created this sand sculpture to wish both teams good luck,' Pattnaik said.

Pattnaik said he also created a sand sculpture of Lionel Messi to honour the football legend and wished both Argentina and Spain good luck, adding that football enjoys immense popularity in eastern India and fans are eagerly looking forward to the World Cup final.

'We have also created a sculpture of Messi, who is a legend of world football, with the message, 'We Love Messi,' because you know that everywhere in the world, Messi is mesmerising fans with his unique game,' he said.

'We created both sculptures, and we would like to wish both teams all the best. We all must watch the match because, especially in the eastern part of India, people are very crazy about football. So we have created both sculptures to wish both teams good luck,' he added. (ANI)