Sunday at 3:00 p.m. EST, MetLife Stadium will play host to the biggest sporting event in the world. The reigning World Cup champions, Argentina, will be taking on the reigning European champions, Spain. It’s no surprise these squads both made it to the final, as they are international powerhouses.
The match on the field should be highly entertaining, but the underlying storyline makes this a must-watch spectacle. Barcelona’s past superstar, Lionel Messi, against Barcelona’s present and future, Lamine Yamal. Once a ballboy for Messi’s teams at the Camp Nou, Yamal will now face him for soccer’s biggest prize.
Argentina
2022 World Cup champions Argentina come into this final looking like the team of destiny. So many times this tournament they have decided to wait until the 80th minute or later to turn on the gas. They’ve looked down and out multiple times in this competition and just somehow always find a way.
Defensively, Argentina have been suspect this tournament. Cristian Romero is a force in the box on set pieces, and Lisandro Martínez is a great distributor of the ball. The whole back line offers so much going forward. As much as they help the attack, defensively they can lose focus at times. England and Switzerland were both able to hit them well on the counter off bad passes, and World Cup darlings Cape Verde found success with a high press when Argentina couldn’t play out properly. Spain aren’t the best counterattacking team in this tournament, but that doesn’t mean you can be sloppy and give Lamine Yamal a chance to run at your back line.
Going forward, most of the attack goes through Lionel Messi—surprise, surprise. Rolling out four industrious midfielders has given him the freedom and space to do whatever he wants and make any play he sees. Goals from the midfield, Enzo Fernández and Alexis Mac Allister, and the defense, Cristian Romero, have had huge impacts this competition, but it’s hard to see Argentina winning this match without Messi being at his best.
My X-factor for this match is Julián Álvarez. Coming off the best year of his career, everyone was looking at him to make his mark as the heir to Messi’s throne for Argentina. He has not had the best tournament, but his outrageous and clutch strike against Switzerland seems to have given him more confidence.
Spain
The 2024 European champions may have started the tournament slowly with a draw against Cape Verde, but they are coming into this final after an impressive win against France. A tactical masterclass allowed them to make the competition favorites look ordinary. To me, they are the most well-rounded squad in the world.
They have only conceded one goal all tournament. I had question marks about their defense going into the World Cup, but they have proved me wrong. Pau Cubarsí has been excellent for his age and has formed a great partnership with elder statesman Aymeric Laporte.
As good as the defense has been, it’s the midfield that has made them shine. Rodri, especially against France, has been back to his best, the form that won him the Ballon d’Or. The call to bench Pedri was a big one, but Fabián Ruiz has been excellent at fending off the press and controlling games. Not turning the ball over and stopping attacks at the source has kept the defense safe from dangerous opportunities.
Going forward, they have been led by names most fans would not know. Mikel Oyarzabal plays for Real Sociedad and has been scoring goals in La Liga for years. Despite not playing for a traditional big club, he always shows up in a Spanish jersey, and this summer has been no different. Being later in his career, he can’t always play a full 90 minutes, and his backup, Mikel Merino, who isn’t a striker by trade, has deputized incredibly well.
My X-factor for Spain is kind of boring, but to me it’s Lamine Yamal. He hasn’t been at his creative best this summer, but being only 19, you can excuse that. Teams have really keyed in on his desire to cut in onto his left foot. Spain doesn’t need him to show up in a big way to win this, in my opinion, but if he does, it’s hard to see Spain not lifting the World Cup.
Prediction:
This should be an outstanding match. It may not be the most exciting spectacle due to how Spain play, but after watching Argentina over the last four weeks, you can never count out a wild ending. I could see this going either way, but on the back of their domination of tournament favorites France, I am backing Spain to lift the World Cup.
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