World Cup final: Golden trophy firmly in sight for classy Spain and dogged Argentina
Deposed England and France must first contest the dreaded bronze medal match this weekend
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IT SEEMED like only yesterday when the Fifa World Cup kicked off with co-hosts Mexico downing South Africa after a wild game that featured three red cards.
That was a little over five weeks ago, believe it or not, and now, after 102 matches, the final weekend is upon us with Spain and the defending champions Argentina meeting in the championship showdown on Sunday (Monday 3 am kickoff, Singapore time).
More than 80,000 fans will pack the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, and among them will be US President Donald Trump, who is set to attend his first World Cup game in person and will likely be on the pitch to present the trophy to the winners.
Spanish flair meets Argentina’s spirit
When Spain fluffed their lines in their opening fixture to only draw with minnows Cape Verde, not many would have expected them to make it to the end of the tournament.
The Spaniards looked lifeless in that game, but they quickly recovered to record six victories in a row, scoring 13 times and only conceding once.
Spain impressed in the semi-final when they completely dominated the favourites and 2022 runner-up France from start to finish, with coach Luis de la Fuente executing his game plan to perfection to win 2-0.
After claiming the European Championship two years ago, Spain are now just one game away from adding the World Cup crown to their list of accolades.
One of the breakout stars in his talented Spanish squad is Mikel Oyarzabal, and it’s safe to say that Spain would have long been sent packing if not for the Real Sociedad forward’s five goals.
The 29-year-old bagged the winning goal against England in the Euro 2024 final and struck a picture-perfect penalty against France on Wednesday.
Lamine Yamal turned 19 earlier this week and while the teenager has only scored once in the World Cup (in the 4-0 demolition of Saudi Arabia in the group stage), his electric pace and positioning make him a key figure in de la Fuente’s line-up.
As for Argentina, some argue that the 2022 winners have made it this far only because of a somewhat easier route in the knockout stages.
That, however, could hardly be further from the truth as Lionel Messi’s side had to endure extra time against Cape Verde and Switzerland, and had to claw their way back from a two-goal deficit to oust Egypt.
In the semi-final on Thursday, Argentina was staring elimination in the face against England, but they showed their indomitable spirit once more to score in the closing stages, with Lautaro Martinez’s header deep in injury time sealing a breathtaking 2-1 victory.
Messi is 39 years old and is still busy pulling the strings and calling the shots. If the captain is not scoring goals, he’s creating them. He’s a firm contender for the Golden Boot too, and how the player whom many regard as the GOAT (greatest of all time) would love to net the winner against Spain and retain the World Cup trophy.
The bookmakers regard Spain as the more likely victor, but as Argentina has shown time and again at this tournament, they can never be written off until the final whistle is blown.
The dreaded bronze medal game
France and England – the two deposed teams in the semi-finals – are not allowed to fly home just yet. As much as they don’t want to, they are obliged to square off in a third-place playoff in Miami on Saturday (Sunday 5 am kickoff, Singapore time).
Some have described this game as the “most pointless” match of the World Cup, as the teams would probably not want to turn up for a game that has nothing much at stake.
Still, play on they must, and these two giants of the sport must somehow muster energy and confidence to press on for another 90 minutes, or 120 minutes if extra time is needed.
For France’s coach Didier Deschamps, he will bring his 14-year spell to an end this weekend, and he will at least hope to end on a high and take the bronze medal.
Deschamps and his England counterpart Thomas Tuchel will likely use the opportunity to give some game time to fringe players that have not featured much at the World Cup, such as England’s Ivan Toney, Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo, and France’s N’Golo Kante and Marcus Thuram.
If anything, previous bronze medal matches have produced a hatful of goals, and that could make things quite entertaining for the neutrals.
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