Spain’s victory in this morning’s FIFA World Cup final confirmed what many have long believed: soccer is a team sport, and in the end, the collective defeats the individual.
It also reinforced the importance of junior development, standardised coach education, technical training at youth level, and national teams across all age groups playing a consistent style that promotes tactical understanding, technical excellence, and possession-based soccer.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente represents the modern evolution of a system adopted more than 30 years ago.
While the 1-0 score in a game that went to extra time suggests a tight struggle, it was in fact a game dominated by Spain : remarkably, Argentina couldn’t produce one shot on goal. Spain won 65% of possession and completed 762 accurate passes to 358.
It was complete domination.
What happened in the first half?
Spain came into the final with an unchanged team. Argentina made three changes. Rodrigo De Paul returned in midfield, Gonzalo Montiel started at right-back, and Nicolás González came in on the wing. Giuliano Simeone, Nahuel Molina, and Leandro Paredes dropped out.
The match burst into life in the fourth minute when 19-year-old Lamine Yamal created a chance, followed moments later by another half-chance. Spain’s early pressure immediately led to an Argentine counter-attack, which was snuffed out near the halfway line by goalkeeper Unai Simón.
The scene had been set: Spain would dominate possession, while Argentina looked to strike on the counter.
Leading up to the hydration break, it was a cagey opening quarter, although Yamal looked dangerous on the right.
Argentina then settled into the dangerous game of a low block, inviting Spain forward. On the left, Marc Cucurella began pushing forward and turning the screws on Argentina, while Mikel Oyarzabal had a great chance in the 38th minute.
The only statistic Argentina led in at half-time was fouls committed, although only one yellow card had been shown (to defender Lisandro Martínez). Martínez came off injured minutes later and was replaced by Nicolás Otamendi.
Messi had barely been sited.
More of the same in the second half
The much-hyped halftime show was uneventful, apart from the appearance of Shakira, and the change to the halftime break from 15 to 30 minutes.
Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes came on and within minutes received a yellow card. The more the Argentinians disrupted the flow of the Spanish, the more you sensed a moment of brilliance would seal the match.
Spain’s coach needed to lift the tempo and brought on Ferran Torres and Pedri in the 62nd minute. Within minutes, Spain laid siege with three quick corners and a couple of half-chances, with the best chance falling to Torres. While the hydration break created much controversy, it perhaps saved Argentina and gave them a chance to regroup.
While Messi had not been sighted, and Argentina had not registered a shot on goal, you could argue Argentina would be the happier side because it was 0-0. They had clearly been tested, but they were still in the game.
In the 75th minute it was time for Spain to throw on two attacking options: Nico Williams and Mikel Merino. They laid siege to the Argentinian goal immediately. The Argentinians were hanging on by a thread. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was keeping them in the game.
Heading for extra time, Argentina suffered a major blow when Emiliano Fernández made a reckless challenge near the halfway line. Already on a yellow card, he received a second booking and was sent off.
Things heat up in extra time
The only way Argentina were going to win the World Cup from here was through penalties. To get there, Martínez would have to produce the greatest goalkeeping performance in World Cup history, while Spain would need to leave their shooting boots behind.
In the 95th minute, Spain introduced two more substitutes and immediately thought they had scored when Nico Williams found the net, only for the goal to be disallowed.
Then, in the 103rd minute, super-sub Mikel Merino missed a free header that could well go down as the miss of the tournament. There were no goals scored in the first half of extra time.
In the first minute of the second half of extra time, Torres finally broke the deadlock. It was all over. At this point, Spain had 20 attempts to Argentina’s 0.
Messi, the greatest of all time, was a passenger, apart from a couple of glimpses at the end, with two corners.
This was a brave Argentina but Spain was a complete team.
It was hardly a fitting finale to a World Cup that had delivered 103 mostly magical matches.
