Аргентин болон Испанийн шигшээ багууд Дэлхийн аваргын төлөө өрсөлдөнө

Only Spain stand in the way of Argentina retaining the World Cup.

Luis de la Fuente’s team have barely allowed a big chance all tournament, conceding just once in seven games. They are unbeaten in 37 games, a joint record for a European nation (excluding their penalty shootout defeat by Portugal in the final of the 2025 Nations League).

In the semi-finals, they shackled France’s front four with such ease that the debate over whether it was the best front line ever assembled now feels foolishly premature.

If Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue can’t beat them, though, who can?

The slightly surprising answer is Scotland, the team ranked 42nd in the world and who exited the World Cup at the group stage. In March 2023, they defeated Spain 2-0 at Hampden Park, with Lyndon Dykes, most recently of Championship club Charlton Athletic, playing on his own up front. No side has emulated that achievement over 90 minutes since.

It may be that Scotland were Spain’s nadir, a night so desperate they ditched the apps and resolved to love themselves again, but whatever self-healing practices Spain implemented, they worked.

So, what can Argentina take, if anything? Let’s start with a source of inspiration: Scott McTominay. It was his double that sealed a famous 2-0 victory en route to Euro 2024 qualification. He has achieved such cult status at Napoli, the same club that elevated Diego Maradona to a god, that his shirt is often the only one sold by many street vendors (alongside the Argentine’s).

With that tenuous link established, we move on to the game itself. There are some minor caveats to bear in mind. For one, only Pedro Porro, Rodri, Mikel Merino and Mikel Oyarzabal from the starting XI in 2023 will be major players in Sunday’s final. Gavi and Nico Williams did play in the second half, but Spain’s team that day featured Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal, David Garcia at centre-back, Dani Ceballos in midfield, Yeremy Pino on the wing and Joselu up front. Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi were months away from making their senior debuts.

Spain, therefore, did not possess the aura they now have as reigning European champions. In fact, when they arrived in Glasgow it felt like the world of football was spinning away from them.

Luis Enrique had been sacked after crashing out in the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup. Pep Guardiola was leading Manchester City to the Champions League using four centre-backs. Man-for-man pressing was all the rage, supplanting the possession-based principles that had led Barcelona to two Champions League titles in 2009 and 2011 and saw the Spain national team win Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup.

Scotland set up in a 5-4-1 with Ryan Christie and John McGinn timing when to jump from their wide midfield positions to press the centre-backs and trap their build-up play. After going ahead, they sat deep and encouraged crosses due to Spain’s limited aerial strength. They retained a threat on the break and almost scored again before the break through Christie and Dykes.

Both goals came from down the left flank. The first due to a slip from Porro, which allowed Andy Robertson to cut the ball back for McTominay. The second a driving Kieran Tierney run that left Dani Carvajal for dead and again found McTominay crashing into the box. Lawrence Shankland nearly made it 3-0 in stoppage time.

Spain had 75 per cent of possession but just managed eight shots compared with Scotland’s nine. Both registered three on target but Scotland created the better openings. Having only lost seven of 146 European qualifiers over the previous three decades, Spain were routinely dispatched without Angus Gunn making one great save.

Key to victory was frustrating the maestro, Rodri. At this tournament, he has had roughly 20 per cent more touches and made roughly 20 per cent more passes than any player from any side. It is why he so rarely loses for club or country. However, on the rare occasion he does, boy, does he take it badly.

“It’s the way they play, we have to respect it but for me it’s a bit rubbish, always wasting time, provoking you, they always fall. For me, this is not football,” he said afterwards.

He surprisingly avoided a ban for a similar meltdown after Manchester City threw away a 2-0 lead at Tottenham Hotspur in February, implying referees were biased. Even after the goalless draw against Cape Verde which kicked off Spain’s World Cup, he bemoaned their lack of adventure.

Rodri seems to expect opponents to be obsequious — as if Scotland and Cape Verde, an island country with a population of 530,000 who scoured the globe just to scrape a squad together, are duty-bound to play the way they want.

France and Didier Deschamps, as storied as they are, were naive and played into Spain’s hands. They were disjointed in their press and got the runaround.

Do not press high and let them cross from deep are two pieces of advice, but the tactical lessons and crossovers may be limited. Lionel Messi, for example, is not quite at the level of Ben Gannon-Doak. There is, however, evidence that this Spain team can be ruffled.

At Hampden, Dykes elbowed Garcia. Likewise Robertson to Porro. McGinn flattened Jose Gaya. They milked every retaliation and wasted time. Rather than being riled into playing at a higher level, Spain sunk into self-pity mode.

If there is one major nation whose footballing identity shares some DNA with Scotland, it is Argentina — and, no, not just because of their shared fondness for Maradona.

They have produced some of the greatest players to ever grace the sport, but even the artists can be dogs of war when rubbed up a certain way. Look at how they treated England’s players from the first whistle in their semi-final on Wednesday. The first four players who played a backwards pass were met with a blatant elbow into the back.

Argentina are a team fixated on winning in whatever way required. They roll with the punches and have a relentless spirit. It was those intangibles that saw Scotland pull off a great shock three years ago.

As the defending champions, Argentina have more weapons in their arsenal — not least Messi — but disrupting the Spaniards’ rhythm and making the game emotional has to be the foundation.

Who better to start with than Rodri? If anyone can get near him, that is.