How a dominant Spain finally saw off disappointing Argentina in a one-sided World Cup final

[p][b][a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/2BvwMuF6AzJyyWEvQCUAP1?si=PJhHPPmfSzadb9ZK_GGCZQ&nd=1&dlsi=02149cd488cf4e11"]Listen to the full article via Spotify[/a].[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/spain/bLyo6mco/"]Spain[/a] had eased their way to the MetLife Stadium showpiece, conceding just one goal in their games, and not once going behind. A run that's almost as perfect as it's possible to have.[/p][p]Argentina, by contrast, had gone to war in several games, battling to wins over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cape-verde/MocyWdm7/"]Cape Verde[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/egypt/bejDn7NN/"]Egypt[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/england/j9N9ZNFA/"]England[/a]. [/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/argentina/f9OppQjp/"]Argentina[/a]'s never-say-die attitude[/h2][p]It's a never-say-die attitude that had held them in good stead; however, they were coming up against a team that would set a new record of unbeaten matches for a European country if they avoided defeat, and would win a sixth final in seven attempts in the process.[/p][image alt="Spain v Argentina - Starting XIs" id="f560624b-9833-4aa5-b557-b04607e5dd9c" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="9b13174b-9047-4a09-9130-435d36add492" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p]La Albiceleste had [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/messi-lionel/vgOOdZbd/"]Lionel Messi[/a], and Spain had Lamine Yamal, and the headline writers would have a field day in the lead-up to the World Cup final. Would either be the protagonist in the match itself, though?[/p][p]A bright opening from both sides made for an exciting start, with Lamine having the first shot on target in the fourth minute, shortly followed by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/simon-unai/Ao9Vw3hi/"]Unai Simon[/a]'s decisive clearance some 35 yards from his goal.[/p][h2]High Spanish press left Argentina chasing shadows[/h2][p]The high Spanish press kept Argentina's players chasing shadows for long periods, and indeed, La Roja's 68% collective possession in the first 15 minutes was a fair reflection of the pattern of play.[/p][p]La Albiceleste hadn't managed a touch in the Spanish box, though [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mac-allister-alexis/fDPhMB8M/"]Alexis Mac Allister[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandez-enzo/nZnbEVWP/"]Enzo Fernandez[/a] had contested five one-on-ones between them, evidencing the battling qualities that their side would need to keep Spain at bay.[/p][embed guid="bcb1e5e9-4b3f-4ab3-9d98-41e90ff8e63d" url="https://x.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/2078924510783275411" social-type="twitter" /][p]Referee Slavko Vincic deserves some credit for allowing the game to flow when he could, despite some robust challenges from both sides. Eight free kicks before the first hydration break lent a stop-start element to proceedings, which undoubtedly suited the more dogged natural Argentinian game.[/p][p]Although Messi had a 100% pass completion by that point, he had only touched the ball seven times, four of which were passes.[/p][h2]Spain much sharper in possession[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cubarsi-pau/UgTrNwCF/"]Pau Cubarsi[/a]'s perfect 100% showing for his ground and aerial duels, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/laporte-aymeric/SYnaB65s/"]Aymeric Laporte[/a]'s winning back of possession on three occasions, ensured that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cucurella-marc/QTynbZd3/"]Marc Cucurella[/a]'s raiding down the Argentinian right and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/porro-pedro/nTebDzHC/"]Pedro Porro[/a]'s on their left soon became a feature.[/p][p]Any real attacking verve came from the Spanish, who were sharper in possession, and often more direct than their counterparts, who had to be content to bide their time.[/p][image alt="Pau Cubarsi's pass map v Argentina" id="07f08515-a167-452f-937f-3f51298c67c3" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="50003572-36d5-480d-a0b8-15b2ef7d7c9f" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]A case in point came in the 38th minute when the ball was hoofed forward to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alvarez-julian/bBHauDIC/"]Julian Alvarez[/a], and he could only succeed in pulling back [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rodri/K0G8DB00/"]Rodri[/a] in his efforts to get to the ball.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/oyarzabal-mikel/dQ1P695O/"]Mikel Oyarzabal[/a]'s first sight of goal came shortly after, but Spain's second shot on target was straight at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/martinez-emiliano/ziCcc5jM/"]Emi Martinez[/a].[/p][h2]No shots at goal for Argentina before half-time[/h2][p]Argentina continued to toil, but through sheer will and desire were able to keep their opponents at bay, despite the ease with which the Spanish eased through the gears.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/martinez-lisandro/GIzJAqQs/"]Lisandro Martinez[/a], the only player to receive a yellow card in the first half, was subbed off before half-time, but not before he'd won all of his tackles, contested five ground duels, won possession back twice and also made an interception.[/p][image alt="Argentina's shots against Spain" id="27dd1eb7-5e8e-4b86-83e5-27ae91ae3482" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="dc65c88a-1e13-43bb-ac26-133091a6fd84" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]By half-time, Argentina's players not only hadn't had a shot at goal, but still hadn't even had a touch in Spain's box, and yet with the score goalless, they were still very much in a game which should've already been beyond them if the Spanish attackers had been more incisive. [/p][p]Two misplaced passes in the opening minute of the second half should've been punished by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/baena-alex/bmeQTB92/"]Alex Baena[/a], who, like Oyarzabal in the first half, could only find the gloves of Martinez.[/p][h2]Subdued start to the second half[/h2][p]A more subdued start to the half could perhaps be put down to the extended (27-minute) half-time break, as the players got up to speed once more.[/p][p]Argentina seemed more concerned with breaking up play by fair means or foul, though despite [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/paredes-leandro/lbNnSBiA/"]Leandro Paredes[/a]' yellow card, Spain had actually committed the same number of fouls (10) as La Albiceleste.[/p][embed guid="f3edd163-b56e-4ca2-bd89-335d3d13b373" url="https://x.com/SpainIsFootball/status/2078942509128953963" social-type="twitter" /][p]With 55 minutes gone, Messi was the only player to have retained a 100% pass completion, albeit he'd hardly been in the game to any great degree.[/p][p]Certainly, his colleagues were working much harder, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tagliafico-nicolas/jgaGiVOl/"]Nicolas Tagliafico[/a]'s industry a standout. Five duels won from eight contested, as well as winning back possession on four occasions, was a best-in-class showing as the game reached the hour mark.[/p][h2]Martinez's five saves[/h2][p]Oyarzabal, with five goals to his name before the final, along with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ruiz-fabian/l6HSH2Uo/"]Fabian Ruiz[/a], were replaced by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a] pair [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pedri/baBG8QuI/"]Pedri[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/torres-ferran/AVAVLaLt/"]Ferran Torres[/a], as Luis de la Fuente looked for something a little different from his side.[/p][p]In keeping with what had gone before, it was Spain who were setting the pace in terms of attacking football, and they had still retained 63% collective possession with just over 20 minutes to play.[/p][image alt="Spain v Argentina - Match stats" id="741607af-d815-4af4-ac22-f363874a84d5" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="251fa8ba-3b5a-46ce-afd1-fa224532b611" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]Argentina's defence had looked strong throughout, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/montiel-gonzalo/rN9tdN16/"]Gonzalo Montiel[/a] winning 100% of his challenges, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/romero-cristian/jBZTWXMn/"]Cristian Romero[/a] standing tall before he was subbed off at the second hydration break.[/p][p]Torres had the chance to make himself a hero with just his second touch, but his free header, again, fell straight to the Argentinian keeper. It was Martinez's fifth save of the game, the most he'd ever made in a game at any World Cup.[/p][h2]Cubarsi imperious[/h2][p]One of the unsung heroes for Spain at the tournament, Pau Cubarsi had again been imperious at the back, making four clearances - more than anyone on the pitch - winning the majority of his five ground duels, and providing an astonishing 98.8% pass completion.[/p][p]In the latter stages, Spain began to squeeze Argentina, and nine shots on target to none from their opponents really should've seen them trouble the scoreboard. [/p][image alt="Spain v Argentina - Player ratings" id="c0f56bea-1448-4ab6-8703-77634980ddf8" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="0d7e166d-994c-497c-b5b6-1ae4e022eb50" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p]In stoppage time, an ill-advised tackle from Enzo Fernandez on Cubarsi saw him booked for the second time and subsequently sent off. Given his first yellow was for dissent, time would tell how much Argentina would regret being a man down.[/p][p]With almost the final action of normal time, Lamine fired in a free-kick on target - Spain's 10th - only for Martinez to fly to his left to push the ball around the post.[/p][h2]Argentina's intentions were clear in extra time[/h2][p]Extra time was only going to be an exercise of staying in the game for Argentina, but with a man down and Spain pushing at every opportunity, that was going to be a massive ask.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/scaloni-lionel/A1A2ibcF/"]Lionel Scaloni[/a]'s intentions were clear as he stuck eight men behind the ball, keeping Messi up front on his own.[/p][image alt="Spain v Argentina - Momentum shift" id="0fa3f169-b92c-4d18-9de7-4b7f39b54a7e" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="5f6fa195-39b9-4a93-9819-28e92d95248a" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/williams-nico/Cp7lcVjJ/"]Nico Williams[/a] had the ball in the net for Spain after five minutes, but it was quickly ruled out for a contentious foul in the buildup. Then [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/merino-mikel/QFt86bm1/"]Mikel Merino[/a], who'd been the hero for La Roja earlier in the tournament, completely missed the target with a free header from a few yards out.[/p][p]At half-time in extra time, Martinez had had the most touches of any Argentina player (62), whilst three Spaniards - Cubarsi (127), Porro (119) and Rodri (116) - had broken through the century barrier, bringing the incredibly one-sided nature of the game into sharp focus.[/p][h2]'The Shark' bites to win it for Spain[/h2][p]The deadlock was finally broken when Torres smashed home a left-footed rocket right at the start of the second period, and it was no more than Spain deserved.[/p][p]A 12th attempt on target and 20th in total were in stark contrast to none, still, from the reigning champions, for whom Messi was completely anonymous.[/p][embed guid="b5ccb53b-8bb4-47c6-8a4e-f8aec64b7476" url="https://x.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/2078961020656116221" social-type="twitter" /][p]Torres then had another ruled out for offside as Spain looked to finish the game as a contest once and for all.[/p][p]With the goal at his mercy right at the end of the game, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/simeone-giuliano/IJTJu41i/"]Giuliano Simeone[/a] skied a presentable effort, with his only shot of any description, and with that miss, Argentina's World Cup hopes died.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/argentina-f9OppQjp/spain-bLyo6mco/?mid=UgbUKPmT"]Click here for more on the match[/a][/b][/p]