NEW YORK — Yes, Argentina and Spain made the World Cup final because they have great players.
When you have a Lionel Messi and a Lautaro Martinez, or a Mikel Oyarzabal and a Lamine Yamal, you’re going to have a better chance than teams that don’t. But you know why else Argentina and Spain are playing Sunday, July 19, and others are not?
Because they stuck with what worked.
Whether you call it a system or you call it a style, both Argentina and Spain have a way of playing that works for them and they don’t deviate from it. While other teams abandoned theirs when they got desperate or, worse, complacent, Argentina and Spain kept doing their thing.
“Simply being ourselves,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said Friday, July 17, when asked the key to the final.
“Lionel Scaloni and I have a lot of (the same) concepts, values, some principles,” de la Fuente added. “With this equality, it’s all down to details. We have to be faithful, loyal to our football style.”
England abandoned its game plan
Look no further than England for a reminder of what happens when you don’t.
After taking a lead over Argentina in the 55th minute of their semifinal, the Three Lions crawled into a shell. Everyone fell back and bunkered in, which left them exposed to counterattacks. Which might be sustainable if you’re a few minutes from the whistle.
But they weren’t.
Worse, with eight minutes to go, England had had six defenders on the field. There was no one to push forward and keep Argentina honest.
Sure enough, Enzo Fernandez tied it in the 85th and Martinez, with a sublime assist from Messi, won it in the second minute of stoppage time.
This isn’t to pick on England coach Thomas Tuchel. Well, not completely. But it’s a given in almost every sport that if you play not to lose or you get conservative, odds are you’re going to lose. That if you are constantly reinventing the wheel, you’re just going to be spinning it.
“We prepared in the same way we prepare for every match, with a lot of desire for it to go well for us, analyzing the rivalry, seeing what they can do to us,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said.
“The last matches, above all the second half against England, were very good,” he added, “not just the last minutes.”
Spain stuck to its plan
It might have been tempting for Spain to craft a gameplan specifically to neutralize Kylian Mbappé. After all, he had eight goals and three assists going into the semifinal and had a way of conjuring up shots from anywhere on the field.
But Spain has arguably the best midfield of the tournament, and de la Fuente trusted in it. Sure enough, they clogged up the entire middle of the field, never allowing France to get their attack going.
Les Bleus didn’t have a shot on goal through the 80th minute. Which, given the quality of that team, is astounding. And yet not, given Spain has knocked off France in a semifinal for three summers running.
“I’m very happy with the development, individually and as a group,” Spain captain Rodri said. “I think we can do it better. Against France, we had one of the best games we’ve had as a team.”
Style matters
It’s worth noting both Scaloni and de la Fuente were coaches of their country’s youth teams before taking over the senior national team. Their systems were not designed specifically for this World Cup or even for this specific team. First implemented at the youth level, they became engrained in the national team.
It’s no different than it was with Spain’s team that won the World Cup in 2010. Or with its women’s team that won in 2023. It’s why the Netherlands was so formidable in the 1970s. You develop an identity, a style, and you stick with it, even when everything in you is screaming to switch it up.
Great players make a difference. But so does having a process and sticking with it.
“It’ll be a perfect test to see if we’re able to lift the World Cup against the most in-form team,” Rodri said. “I told the guys they needed to have more desire to win than fear to lose.”
A philosophy to live by, in life and in soccer.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Argentina, Spain got to World Cup final by staying ‘faithful’ to identities
About the Author
