Read 4 minutesUpdated: 20 July 2026 06:45 PM IST
Spain’s World Cup final victory went as well as their competition. Luis de la Fuente championed a Spanish side built on an unyielding defensive formation at the back – which provided the twin engines of being one third of Spain’s possession providers and creating any chances in their midfield. That aspect of their football was never challenged by Argentina which only went one way.
Touching, passing and not giving the ball up
Spain was not going to give up the ball. Lionel Scaloni wasn’t even going to try – he said so, relegating his best midfielder Leandro Paredes to the bench. France suffered the consequences of what happened when they dared to fight the Spanish.
Spain passed the ball 853 times in the final – for context, in the 2010 World Cup final against the Netherlands, Javi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets passed the ball 715 times during that midfield run. In yesterday’s final, Spain touched the ball 400 times more than Argentina, again a marker of their incredible grip on the game.
Rodri-Cubarsi-Laporte’s Bermuda Triangle
No World Cup has seen the defensive impact of three players quite like the Spanish centre-back duo of Pau Qubarsi, Aymeric Laporte and deep-lying midfielder Rodri. He took 359 Spanish touches out of a total of 1091 in the final. His grip on two-thirds of the entire MetLife Stadium pitch was absolute. Conceding just one goal in an entire World Cup campaign, an all-time tournament record, is an act of complete and utter authority. Rodrigo’s Golden Ball and Cubarcey’s Young Player Award are a fitting acknowledgment of where Spain won this World Cup.
Pau Qubarsi, Aymeric Laporte and deep-lying midfielder Rodri scored 359 of a total of 1091 Spanish touches in the final. (Credit: WhoScored,com)
Full authority in attack
Spain’s ironclad control resulted in 20 shots, twelve of which were on target. Argentina managed just two tries, one from Lionel Messi and one from Simeone, both coming in extra time, and Ferran Torres gave Spain the lead.
Argentina ended their contract by defending violently and desperately. 12 of Spain’s 20 attempts came from outside the box, as Scaloni blocked his team and prevented Spain from having high-quality attempts on goal. But in the end, Argentina brought the same pressure against Spain that they saw when they invited England to the semi-finals.
Lost in a match with few touches (56) and little impact, Lionel Messi stayed closer to the touchline and the crowd than the Spanish goal. (Credit: WhoScored.com)
Messi completely off
Lost in a match with few touches (56) and little impact, Lionel Messi stayed closer to the touchline and the crowd than the Spanish goal. The 39-year-old ran ten kilometers in the final, fifth among his teammates, but was relegated to defensive duty and a stinging shot late in the game was parried by Mikel Merino. Both Messi and Alvarez rarely ventured into the Spanish box and were dropped for the rest of the afternoon as the first line of Argentina’s defence. A tough, maybe last day at the office for Messi, who went 1-for-3 in the FIFA World Cup final.
*All heatmaps from Whoscored.com