Ням гарагт болох Дэлхийн аваргын шигшээ тоглолтын өмнөх хэвлэлийн бага хурал дээр Испани болон Аргентины багийн ахлагч, дасгалжуулагчид бие биенээ хүндэтгэж буйгаа илэрхийлж, эсрэг багаа хамгийн хүчтэй өрсөлдөгч хэмээн тодорхойллоо.
Испанийн ахлагч Родри Аргентиныг маш өндөр түвшний, эвсэг баг гэж үнэлсэн бол Аргентины хаалгач Эмилиано Мартинес өрсөлдөгчөө хүчирхэг баг хэмээн онцолжээ. Дасгалжуулагч Луис де ла Фуэнте болон Лионель Скалони нар хоёр баг ижил төстэй тоглолтын хэв маяг, авьяаслаг бүрэлдэхүүнтэйг хүлээн зөвшөөрч, энэ нь дэлхийн аварга цолны төлөөх жинхэнэ тулаан байх болно гэдэгт санал нэгдсэн байна.
Родри Лионель Мессиг бүх цаг үеийн шилдэг тоглогч гэж үзэж байгаа ч Аргентиныг зөвхөн нэг тоглогчоос хамааралгүй, цогц бүрэлдэхүүнтэй баг гэдгийг онцлов. Испанийн дасгалжуулагч Луис де ла Фуэнте Мессиг тусгайлан анхаарах шаардлагатайг хүлээн зөвшөөрсөн ч зөвхөн түүнийг барих бус, багийн хамтын ажиллагаанд төвлөрөхөө илэрхийллээ.
Лионель Месси өөрийн зүгээс Испанийн авьяаслаг залуу тоглогч Ламин Ямалыг онцгойлон магтаж, түүнийг дэлхийн хэмжээний тоглогч болон төлөвшиж байгаад баяртай байгаагаа илэрхийлсэн юм. Испаничууд сүүлийн 37 тоглолтод хожигдоогүй амжилтаар финалд ирсэн бол Аргентин улс дэлхийн аваргын цомоо хамгаалахын төлөө түүхэн тоглолт хийхээр бэлтгэж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
NEW YORK —There was a strong theme of mutual respect and admiration from the figureheads of Spain and Argentina as the teams enter the final day of preparation before Sunday’s World Cup final.
Speaking in a press conference at the Javits Center on the West Side of Manhattan, Spain captain Rodri praised both Lionel Messi and Argentina as “the toughest rival” for a World Cup final. Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martinez countered by calling Spain “a great team.”
For both coaches, it’s clear that they see the other as a worthy confrontation to earn the title of world champion.
“I really do see two super teams with a lot of similarities in behavior and in footballing talent,” Spain manager Luis de la Fuente said.
Countered Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni: “How could Spain not worry us? They’re a great team.”
Indeed, these two teams enter the final with arguably the sport’s best resumes. Argentina is looking to win four consecutive major trophies: two Copa América titles and back-to-back World Cups. Spain, meanwhile, is unbeaten in 37 straight matches and won both the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League and 2024 European Championship. The two were due to battle in La Finalissima — the match pitting the reigning Copa América and Euro winners against each other — in March in Qatar, but the occasion was canceled due to the conflict in nearby Iran. They’ve found their way to a match with the greatest possible significance instead.
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They are teams known for their respective stars — Messi and Lamine Yamal —but who have thrived off of team mentality as much as the ability of those respective players.
“Regarding Messi, I don’t think it’s necessary to spell out the kind of player he is or what he means to Argentina,” Rodri said. “I consider him the greatest player of all time, a player who has been able to lead his national team, taking them to win the World Cup in Qatar and now in this case to a final.
“However, I believe Argentina is much more than just Messi; they have proven to be a very well-rounded team with top-tier players. Honestly, I think the two of us are currently the teams that play the best collective football, so to speak. So, obviously, we’ll have to keep Leo in mind, but plenty of others as well.”
Following suit by lauding Messi’s abilities, De la Fuente recalled the first time he confronted the player.
“I met Lionel Messi, I was training at Sevilla Fútbol Club in the (youth academy), and we played a Copa del Rey match … and we went to Barcelona,” the manager said. “People had told me very good things about a kid named Messi. Well, obviously at the start we put an individual marker on him, and by the 70th minute it was still 0-0, and when the player marking him got a card, I made a substitution — and in 15 minutes he scored four goals on me. Does this mean we’re going to man-mark him? No. But are we going to be very attentive to him? Yes.
“But exactly the same way they’re going to have to pay close attention to our players. Great players always deserve special attention. What happens is that in this match there are many players — both on Argentina’s team and Spain’s — that you have to watch closely, but one of them, obviously, is Leo Messi.”
Lionel Messi winks and flashes a thumbs up at a pre-World Cup final press conference in New York (Dylan Martinez / Reuters)
Messi praised Yamal as a top talent during an event with Fanatics in between the respective press conferences.
“Lamine is a huge talent, someone I’ve followed a lot because he plays for a club (Barcelona) I love and I always wish him the best, I always want the best for him,” Messi said. “And, well, he’s one of the world’s benchmark players at 19 years old, and he has his whole career ahead of him. He has a great opportunity to achieve something historic, which we’ll try our hardest to make sure doesn’t happen this time. I just want to wish him the best.”
Yamal has just one goal in this tournament, a nod to an approach that has leaned into the quality of the group as much as any individual brilliance. Spain has suffocated opponents and has allowed just one goal in the tournament.
“It’s not just about Lamine, they have a great group, they work very hard as a team,” Martinez said. “They have their weapons, but we have our weapons too, and hopefully it will be a match that the audience will remember for a long time.”
Scaloni pointed out that both Argentina and Spain like to try to win games by dominating on the ball, and noted the similarities in philosophies between he and De la Fuente, under whom he took coaching licensing courses. The two shared an embrace at the Fanatics event in which they shared a stage.
For Argentina, it’s a chance to make history by becoming the World Cup’s first repeat champion since Brazil in 1962. Meanwhile, Spain sees it as a coronating moment for a group aiming for the nation’s second title (2010).
Lamine Yamal goes on the attack vs. France in the World Cup semifinals (Maria Lysaker / Imagn Images / Reuters)
“Our goal when we came to this World Cup was to win it,” Rodri said. “And we were convinced that it could happen. And we’ve shown that this national team has been capable of beating huge rivals, and now we face perhaps the toughest rival, the one that has shown the most in recent years, the one in the best form. So it’s going to be the perfect test to determine whether we’re capable of lifting this World Cup against the team in the best form.
“I already told the guys in the World Cup semifinals that we needed to have more desire to win than fear of losing. And that’s what we’re going to try to do in Sunday’s final. We’re going to go all out for this World Cup.”
