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It was the triumph of an idea, an identity. Of an unshakable and patient faith. And when it was over, Spain’s new generation having emulated the one from the 2010 World Cup, all of those legendary names, there was simply delirium for them.Spain were the only team that turned up to play this World Cup final, from the first whistle to the last in extra time. Argentina were damned by their lack of ambition even before they had Enzo Fernández sent off towards the end of the regulation time. It was extraordinary to report that they did not have an attempt on goal until the 115th minute.Spain did not let them play. Just as they have barely let any of their opponents do so during the course of this tournament. Their miserly defence has been the cornerstone of everything. They have been breached just once in their eight matches.The question that came to pound concerned their ability to find a way through the sky blue and white ranks. It was the only question. Spain stayed true to their style; to who they are. The possession. The cohesive movements. The control. When they found the answer, it was the moment when they knew that a second World Cup triumph was about to become gloriously real.The goal came in the 106th minute and it was nothing less than they deserved. Pedro Porro crossed deep and it was a wonderful header back by the substitute Nico Williams. It teed up another replacement, Ferran Torres, for the opportunity of his lifetime. The finish was high and true.The Argentina manager, Lionel Scaloni, looked ready to cry. It was a white knuckle ride that carried his team to this stage, defined by late goals and a never-say-die spirit. At no point in any of their knock-out games were they ahead in the 90th minute.Argentina flickered in the very closing stages. The substitute Guiliano Simeone lashed a half chance high. But there would be no successful defence of the title they won in 2022; no fairytale sign-off for Lionel Messi. He could not suppress the tears as he gazed at the Argentina support afterwards.Messi and his team had won their previous three tournaments – two Copa Américas either side of the last World Cup. They had not lost a knockout tie since the 2019 Copa América. They got what they deserved here. There was an ugly flashpoint after full time when Leandro Paredes, who had come on as a substitute, was given a red card for grabbing the Spain replacement Eric García by the throat.Argentina’s reaction in defeat was shameful. They turned their backs on the Spain players as the trophy was presented, preferring to keep their eyes on the fans behind one of the goals. Donald Trump, who did not want to leave the stage as the Spain captain, Rodri, got his hands on those six kilograms of solid gold bliss, was not the only person to make a spectacle of himself.It was quite the show overall in the land of the spectacular show. It started with a ceremony, one to officially close the most bloated tournament there has been, which took in all manner of performances. Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of the US anthem before kick-off was certainly something; ditto Tom Cruise’s speech about the beautiful game. We kicked off six minutes late. There was plenty more at half-time. The action on the field did not keep pace.Argentina had one flicker in the early running when the Spain goalkeeper, Unai Simon, left his line to deal with a Julián Álvarez throughball for Messi. The clearance was straight to Álvarez but his first touch was poor. That was pretty much it from them in forward-thinking terms.The game was all about Spain’s dominance of the ball. Nobody cherishes it quite like them. Rodri set the tempo at the back of the midfield while Lamine Yamal had a few eye-catching moments. He went close at the outset. Spain finessed their patterns. They tried to wear Argentina down.Did anybody enjoy the half-time show? It was a strange detail that Madonna, one of the headline acts, did not actually appear on the pitch. Instead, there was big-screen video of her singing in the back of a car which was driven by Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.Spain pressed high. They forced turnovers. They probed. Argentina could not free themselves from the choke hold. The chances started to come for Spain after the hydration break in the second half of normal time and Argentina were indebted to their goalkeeper, Emi Martínez. He finished with 11 saves, some of them excellent. Were Argentina trying to win the World Cup without taking a shot? Scaloni could scarcely have built a lower block, although he doubled down still further in the 101st minute when he introduced Marcos Senesi for Álvarez and went to 5-3-1.Lionel Scaloni restructured in midfield, introducing Paredes in the holding role for the left-winger Nico González. The Argentina manager wanted his players to get closer to their opponents. It was not long before Paredes barged Rodri off the ball and was booked.Fernández was guilty of losing his composure. Booked in the 83rd minute for dissent, he was asking for trouble when he left something in on Pau Cubarsí to send the Spain defender spinning. Argentina just about reached extra time when Martínez dived to repel a Lamine Yamal free-kick. His best saves before that had denied Cubarsí, Aymeric Laporte and Williams.Spain turned the screw in extra time. Martínez continued to resist, saving once again from Williams. Spain were denied when Mikel Merino, on as a substitute, was adjudged to have fouled another replacement, Nicolás Otamendi, moments before Williams swept home. It was a generous decision for Otamendi, who appeared to throw himself to the ground. Merino glanced wide from a Williams cross when gloriously placed.Spain’s pressure reached the point when the breakthrough felt inevitable. Torres provided the release, the joy. He would also run through in the 113th minute to beat Martínez again, only to be pulled back for offside. The goal he did score was all that mattered. Luis de la Fuente’s unstarry team have a second one on their shirts.

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It zipped along, cramming in Shakira, Madonna and Coldplay, but football fans may not be convinced of need for this mid-match spectacleLike hydration breaks and Donald Trump’s ability to get refereeing decisions overturned by simply phoning up the president of Fifa and complaining, the final half-time show is an innovation of the 2026 World Cup that comes with a degree of controversy attached. For one thing, its existence automatically means the World Cup final breaks the International Football Association’s 15-minute half-time mandate.For another, its obvious antecedent lies in the NFL’s Super Bowl, where the half-time entertainment has mushroomed over the decades from a few marching bands to one of the big pop events of the year. To its detractors, it smacks of America not so much embracing the World Cup as imposing itself upon it.But before you even got to the main event, there was more musical entertainment at the final to wade through, most notably the pre-match closing ceremony, a damp squib that neither the BBC nor ITV elected to broadcast live.Anyone who hastened to iPlayer was rewarded not merely with Post Malone debuting what’s presumably the first single from his forthcoming album the Eternal Buzz, Chrome Heartbreaker (a pivot back to hip-hop-influenced pop after his recent diversion into country, should you be eagerly tracking the artistic vacillations of Post Malone’s career) and duetting with Swae Lee on their US chart-topper Sunflowers, but also an online influencer-cum-professional wrestler called IShowSpeed performing Champions, a track that gained so much traction online that Fifa felt obliged to include it on the official Fifa World Cup album.A frightful cocktail of thunderous drums and autotuned vocals, it featured lyrics that make your average football song sound as erudite and profound as the oeuvre of Leonard Cohen: “I take a breath and wait for the ref / This is the World Cup, put your hands in the air.” Alas, news of its social media virality clearly hadn’t reached the audience in the New York New Jersey Stadium. The deathly silence at its conclusion made you wonder if perhaps the TV broadcast couldn’t pick up the sound of the crowd, but no: some fireworks subsequently went off and they went audibly mental.There was, it turned out, more to come. Jennifer Hudson sang the Star-Spangled Banner. Dutifully flogging a dead horse with all the professionalism he could muster, Robbie Williams performed the Fifa anthem, Desire, in the company of Laura Pausini and Nicole Scherzinger. The ballad debuted at the draw ceremony in December and – like all the musical entertainment at said event – it was overshadowed by the news that Fifa had apparently started making up awards in order to give them to Donald Trump. It vanished into obscurity thereafter, failing to chart anywhere in the world. Listening to it exhumed for another airing, you were forced to concede that the world had a point.After all that, the actual half-time show felt like a comparative triumph. You could argue that the bar had been set pretty low without much dissent, but nonetheless, it zipped along, cramming a lot into its 11 minutes by the simple expedient of paring songs down to their bare essentials and swiftly cutting between artists. Madonna performed a version of her 2000 hit Music – reworked over a backing track immediately recognisable as derived from the Trammps’ Disco Inferno – on a vaguely Mad Max-ish vehicle piloted by Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.Then the strains of the White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army rang out, ostensibly performed by three members of the Muppets’ house band the Electric Mayhem. There was no sign of their leader, Dr Teeth, but perhaps he was indisposed, being treated backstage after being exposed to Champions by IShowSpeed. BTS rattled through Dynamite, Shakira and Burna Boy played a truncated version of Dai Dai – the solitary World Cup song in recent memory to actually impact on the British charts – and Coldplay performed a song called Believe in Love accompanied by a children’s choir: the latter looks horrendous on paper, but was far less sugary in reality, undercut by the farty blast of a crowd of vuvuzela players.The solitary misstep might have involved allowing Justin Bieber to perform a downcast acoustic ballad, Everything Hallelujah – viral hit following his performance at Coachella or not, this perhaps wasn’t the moment for introspection – but no matter: if the half-time show wasn’t sufficiently head-spinning to convince the viewer it should be a regular occurrence at every World Cup final, it worked well enough to justify its existence at least this time. Although clearly not everyone felt the same way: “I thought it was crap,” offered Wayne Rooney, when pressed for his opinions by BBC presenter Gabby Logan.

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Luis de la Fuente says he will not man-mark Lionel Messi in the World Cup final, even though the Argentina captain has scored eight times and provided four assists and the Spain coach’s own experience suggests it might not be a bad idea.In the buildup to Sunday’s final in New Jersey, De la Fuente told the story of the first time he encountered Messi, 22 years ago, when the Argentinian was a 16-year-old coming through at Barcelona, he was the youth-team coach at Sevilla and the under-19 cup draw brought them together in the last 16 in May 2004 at the Miniestadi.“I’m going to tell you something funny about Messi,” De la Fuente said. “Look, I met Lionel Messi when I was coaching at Sevilla in division de honour [the national under-19 league] and we played a Copa del Rey game against Barcelona. We went to Barcelona. They had spoken very well about a boy called Messi. So, we put a man-marker on him. In the 70th minute it was 0-0. When they gave a yellow card to the player who was marking him, I took him off. And in 15 minutes, Messi scored four goals.”

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After the team’s third-placed finish, we rate the 24 squad members who made an appearance at the tournamentJordan Pickford Could he have done better with Enzo Fernández’s equaliser for Argentina? Jude Bellingham certainly thought so. But the man who has made more World Cup finals appearances than any other Englishman made some crucial saves, including a brilliant stop from Nicolas González in the semi-final. 7Dean Henderson Had to wait until the third-place playoff for some action and ended up conceding four goals despite a strong performance. Will hope to challenge Pickford over next two years. 7Djed Spence Emerged as an unlikely cult hero thanks to some wholehearted performances. He will always be remembered for snubbing Thomas Partey’s handshake and his tackle on Giuliano Simeone against Argentina. 8Marc Guéhi Somehow wasn’t Thomas Tuchel’s first-choice initially, although that was rectified after the Croatia game. England’s most consistent and reliable defender – the way he handled Erling Haaland was a masterclass. 8John Stones Arrived painfully short of match fitness and it showed in the opening game against Croatia. Much improved when called upon in the quarter- and semi-finals. A huge asset when he plays. 7Ezri Konsa A few shaky moments during the group stage but recovered well and filled in capably at right-back when needed. At 28, young enough to be there again in four years. 7Dan Burn Showed his limitations against Argentina. But he will always have those two epic appearances off the bench against Mexico and Norway. No one will forget the clearing headers so powerful they ended up in the opposition’s half. 7Nico O’Reilly Had his strongest game against Norway in the quarter-final when he was at his marauding best. Will be disappointed not to have scored and to have been on the pitch as a substitute when Argentina instigated their semi-final comeback. 6Reece James Such a good player when fit, which is sadly far too rare. Missed most of the tournament owing to a hamstring injury and England suffered when he went off against Argentina. 6Trevoh Chalobah The Chelsea player was a surprise choice to replace Tino Livramento, who pulled out injured at the last minute. Managed only six minutes against France in the end. 6Jarell Quansah Brought in to solve the right-back conundrum against Panama, he was doing well until the rush of blood against Mexico and subsequent red card. Recalled for the France game and had to be replaced. 5Jude Bellingham Showed his supreme quality when it mattered and could not be more committed to his country’s cause, even if his rocky relationship with Tuchel had to be carefully managed. 9Elliot Anderson Didn’t allow himself to be distracted by his £116m move to Manchester City and grew as the tournament progressed. Ran his heart out against Norway and Argentina. 8Morgan Rogers Made the most of his limited minutes in unfamiliar roles. Showed what a good player he is by playing as one of the two central midfielders against Norway before setting up Anthony Gordon from the right wing against Argentina. 8Declan Rice Clearly affected by the hamstring and back problems that marred the second half of his season with Arsenal, even if his effort – as ever – could not be faulted. Needs a long rest to recharge his batteries but may not get one. 6Eberechi Eze Could not have the impact he would have wished for in four substitute appearances before starting against France. Did a decent job in central midfield against Panama but was largely on the periphery when given a chance on the left in the quarter-final. 6Jordan Henderson Spent 12 minutes on the pitch, in a historic appearance against Panama when he became the first England men’s player to appear at seven major international tournaments. But managed to get booked against Mexico as a substitute and break an arm celebrating the win. 5Bukayo Saka Three goals and three assists despite playing through the pain of an achilles injury was a courageous effort from Arsenal’s talisman. It was a huge surprise not to see him come off the bench against Argentina and he showed what England were missing against France. 8Anthony Gordon A quiet start having been preferred to Rashford before responding magnificently to being dropped. Three assists and a goal against Argentina showed why Barcelona were so keen to sign him. 8Harry Kane Sadly his tournament will be remembered for a largely anonymous display against Argentina rather than rescuing England against the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Will he ever have a better chance to win the World Cup? 8Marcus Rashford Made a good start to his third World Cup by coming off the bench to score against Croatia, and started against Panama. But wasn’t seen again until England were chasing the game against Argentina in injury time. 6Ivan Toney Sat on the bench until Lautaro Martínez’s goal in added time of the semi-final. Could not make an impact in the three minutes he was given but did well against France. 6Ollie Watkins Largely a frustrated spectator despite his heroics in the Euro 2024 semi-final and arriving here in a rich vein of form. A half on the left flank against France and a brief appearance against Panama were scant reward. 6Noni Madueke Some promising moments but lacked end product in his four starts and had slipped down the pecking order by the semi-final. Needs to be much more clinical at this level. 5Did not play: James Trafford and Kobbie Mainoo

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Great brought an ideology to Barcelona that Guardiola and Emery refined, defining the playing style of the national teamTwo countries are generating powerful, cross-border momentum in football. Spain represent the leading footballing culture, radiating their influence across the globe. Argentina possess a distinct identity that shapes the South American continent. Consequently, the World Cup is witnessing the perfect final.The architect of Spain’s vision is Johan Cruyff. He brought the 4-3-3 formation and a specific ideology to Barcelona. A cadre of tactical purists, such as Pep Guardiola and Unai Emery, refined his approach into a philosophy that has defined the playing style of the entire league, all youth squads and the national team for nearly two decades. Its principles include ball-oriented defending, clearly defined positions and roles, a high level of organisation, and technical, combination-based football. Eleven players operate as a unit, moving like a swarm.Spain’s head coach, Luis de la Fuente, has internalised this guiding philosophy. He spent decades working in youth development at club and federation level, and his assistants are longtime associates. On the pitch, this style is embodied by Rodri, the world’s best player.Spanish idealism triumphed over French individual brilliance in the semi-final. Spain’s superiority was perfectly illustrated by the goal that made it 2–0, when the full-back Pedro Porro – unmarked inside the penalty area – slotted home with the inside of his right foot.Spain exerts influence across its continent because of its dominance. The nation has won three of the past five European Championships (2008, 2012, 2024) and is, by a wide margin, the most successful country in European club competitions this century. Spanish coaches are in high demand across top leagues, having exported their ideas throughout Europe for years. The women are world champions.The World Cup has underscored the fact that the global style of football is largely shaped by a Spanish-dominated Europe. At present, almost all of the international elite look to the models established by Barça, Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal. Wherever a coach follows this guiding principle, sporting progress ensues. This confirms an age-old maxim: the quality of the coaches determines the quality of the sport.It is not true – as is sometimes claimed – that coaching methods have changed globally. What is happening is an alignment with the elite level. This applies to France, especially since Luis Enrique moulded PSG into the best club in Europe. Didier Deschamps has long embodied this philosophy. Although he didn’t quite make it to a third consecutive World Cup final, he is handing over a team with a promising future.England’s squad benefits from the Premier League – the world’s strongest league – which is highly international. The team are physically imposing and battle-hardened. The leaders Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane stepped up, aiming to achieve immortality after a 60-year wait. In the semi-final, however, their opponents’ stronger sense of identity prevailed.Thomas Tuchel moulded his squad into a cohesive unit that functioned well for much of the tournament. Yet the team lacked the biggest-name stars and failed to grow in stature from one match to the next. Ultimately, he lost faith in his lineup against Argentina. His substitutions stripped the team of stability and confidence, causing the collapse.Success follows where, beyond a guiding philosophy, there is outstanding individual quality, as seen in Norway with Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard. Even when such talent is lacking, teams that adhere to the principles of a clear philosophy remain competitive. Canada (Jesse Marsch), the USA (Mauricio Pochettino) and Ghana (Carlos Queiroz) hired coaches with experience in Europe. This trend is extending to Brazil (Carlo Ancelotti), where the unique abundance of talent from the past has faded.Morocco benefit from having a large portion of their squad trained in European academies or playing in top European leagues. Geographical proximity to Andalucía is an asset, and the country is due to co-host the 2030 World Cup. Tactically, the team are no different from Europe’s elite sides. Other African teams, too, defend compactly, operate with structure out of possession and are difficult to beat. Their players and coaches look to Europe for their approach.At this tournament six of the quarter-finalists were from Europe. From the starting lineups, 84 of 88 players were under contract with European clubs last season. The other four played in Europe before moving to a different continent after the age of 30, Lionel Messi among them. With the exception of one penalty, every goalscorer from the winning teams in the quarter-finals and semi-finals plays for a club that has reached a Champions League final in the past decade: Real Madrid, PSG, Arsenal, Liverpool, Atlético, Inter, Chelsea and Tottenham. True excellence is forged in Europe.However, it is quite possible the world champion will come from South America for the second time in a row. Argentina also set a model: defensive, focused on physical duels and prioritising security. Football as an existential struggle, deeply rooted in the culture. With the exception of Brazil, all South American teams were managed by Argentinian coaches.The prime example is Lionel Scaloni, who could become the first coach since the Italian Vittorio Pozzo, in 1938, to successfully defend a World Cup title. Scaloni spent 10 years as a professional in Spain, where he took his first steps as an assistant coach. He was mentored by De la Fuente, the man he will face in the final. It is a small world in football.Philipp Lahm’s column was produced in partnership with Oliver Fritsch at the German online magazine Die Zeit.

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Lionel Scaloni says he has a squad full of fighters – wild and unruly – but on the pitch they play with a freedom reminiscent of eight- or nine-year oldsAfter scoring the goal that secured Argentina’s place in the World Cup final, Lautaro Martínez burst into convulsive sobs during the touchline interview. He spoke of the first pair of trainers his father bought him and of how his mother kept making his bed when he moved to a club pension house in another city as a teenager. Every single day. Martínez said that mattered to him more than any goal, any cup.Argentina’s head coach, Lionel Scaloni, said he was a bit worried after England’s goal but never stopped believing in his players. “They grew up in environments where they were afraid of nothing, in which they’ve always been the best at what they do,” he said. “As small children they competed and everyone expected so much of them; responsibility doesn’t weigh them down.”Scaloni said that on the pitch they play like eight- or nine-year-olds. “They’re not thinking: ‘We’re about to lose a semi-final.’ They’re thinking about playing football, which is what they’ve done all their lives.” He regards the players as wild, unruly and spontaneous. Fighters, men of honour. With deliriously high expectations placed on the squad, the management team advocate for the love of play and the childlike qualities of relating to the ball.The Nobel prize-winning economist Simon Kuznets said there were four types of countries: developed, underdeveloped, Japan and Argentina. Not fitting easily into a type, especially in our binary times when complexity and nuance have become increasingly alien to our processing abilities, is characteristic of Argentina and its people.There is a meme doing the rounds that says: “To kick the Spanish out, first we had kick out the British. History is cyclical and repeats itself.” The image is of battles of independence more than two centuries ago, and the reference is to two British military incursions met with enough resistance to stop them. We learn about the British invasions in primary school in Argentina but I have never met a Briton who has heard of them.The fact that Argentina is a soil of anticolonial struggle appears to surprise observers from the northern hemisphere, who point to the European ancestry of much of the population. Throughout the 20th century many footballers used this European heritage to claim nationalities which allowed them to play for big European clubs. Before the Bosman ruling, that was pretty much the only way to secure a lucrative gig in the big leagues.Since breaking ties with the Spanish crown in 1810 and 1825, the republic has welcomed all peoples of the world. An Argentinian could have a Guaraní mother and an eastern European father. Nazis fled here after the war, and one of the biggest Jewish communities outside Israel continues to track them down. Carlos Menem, the son of Syrian immigrants, gave the go-ahead for the construction of Latin America’s biggest mosque when he was Argentina’s president. Evangelical preachers can be found in every nook and cranny of the vast territory.Indigenous people conduct daily struggles to win back rights and land taken from them and Argentinian Afro-descendants have taken to social media with all their might to make their voices heard. Russians and Africans are the newest migratory waves to be welcomed, and Venezuelans have joined the long line of neighbouring South American incomers. Japanese-Peruvian fusion restaurants, Chinatown and Ukrainian cuisine are to be found.Argentina is a diverse and open society. This is not to say everyone lives happily in some idyllic conflict-free way. It is as polarised, classist, prejudiced and unequal as other countries.The one thing that has provided a unified sense of national identity, whatever that may mean, is football. We love football as an art form, an escape. We are good at football. We export players and managers on a par with grain and meat. The poorest children in the vacant lots play keepy-uppy with anything they can find, perfecting skills in reduced spaces, while the tradition of child and adolescent development is of an excellence to match any other.Daniel Passarella, captain of the 1978 World Cup-winning side, once told me that in most areas of human endeavour, Argentina always wanted to be one of the big nations but was regarded as a lesser. “Football is the one thing we can shake hands with any opponent, look them in the eye, and know they see you as an equal,” he said.At this World Cup, Argentina’s proximity to Fifa and Donald Trump makes the idea of avenging underdogs quite a stretch. Messi mania is a marketing success without precedent, the football association’s financial activities are being examined by the FBI, and outside Argentina the squad is the least simpático of all. Criticism is pouring in from intellectual literary publications and rightwing sensationalist streamers alike.But Argentinians are emboldened by this, turning to developments on the pitch as a valid response. We will surrender to Messi magic, allow our emotions to flow with every spin of the ball, becoming believers in the sacred power of the circle. For the duration of the game. Then, we return to reality with no expectation that anything will be different.The Brazilian poet Sérgio Vaz wrote: “One doesn’t watch football, one feels it.” It is the contentment football can provide, even in the suffering; the pain, the tears and the fear. The emotions are so real, visibly shared. We feel, and we are not alone. It means we’re alive.

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As the top two in the Fifa rankings prepare to meet in New Jersey on Sunday we look at the pointers that may help decide the gameSlavko Vincic becomes the first Slovene to referee a World Cup final. He oversaw the 2024 Champions League final at Wembley (Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0) as well as Spain’s 2-1 win over France at the 2024 Euros semi-final. The 46-year-old’s first World Cup match was Argentina’s opening loss to Saudi Arabia in 2022. At this tournament, Vincic showed Ecuador’s Piero Hincapié a red card for covering his mouth in the 95th minute against Mexico. He has averaged 2.33 yellow cards per game.Thirteen of the past 14 World Cup and European Championship finals – men’s and women’s – have been won by the side who played their semi-final first. On the other occasion the semi-finals were played on the same day. Spain’s men started the streak, beating Italy 4-0 in the final of Euro 2012. Argentina have also benefited, enjoying four days rest to France’s three going into the 2022 final. This time it is Spain who have had an extra day’s rest.No Argentinian president has attended a national team World Cup match for 36 years and the current one, Javier Milei, will be no exception. He has watched all seven games from his presidential residence, telling a Buenos Aires radio station there is “no way” he is travelling to New Jersey. The superstition dates back to 1990 when Carlos Menem visited the Argentina squad before their shock opening loss to Cameroon. The president’s attendance at a World Cup match has since been thought to bring bad luck to the team. Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, plans to attend the match and so does King Felipe VI.An Argentina victory would make them the third country to win back-to-back World Cups and the first this century. Italy won in 1934 and 1938 and Brazil did so in 1958 and 1962. If Spain triumph, they would become the fourth men’s side to hold the Euros and the World Cup at the same time after West Germany (1972, 1974), France (1998, 2000) and Spain, who were the first men’s team in history to win three major titles in a row (Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup, Euro 2012).Argentina have scored the most goals of any team (19) by some margin, with Spain in fourth on 14. But Spain have conceded the fewest goals (1), with Argentina letting in seven.If four quarters and a half-time show wasn’t enough, the winners will be handed rings. Presenting rings has been common practice in the US since the 1922 World Series. There is money to be made, with 30 rings available for the world champions and a further 1,996 going on sale to the public. The design features a mini World Cup trophy on one side, while the other will “reflect the identity of the winning team”, as revealed on Fifa’s website. The victorious team’s players and coaches will be handed temporary rings to allow the bespoke rings to be customised and presented at a later date.The sides were scheduled to meet this year in the Finalissima in Qatar, with Argentina hoping to defend the trophy they won against Italy in 2022. However, the game was called off due to the war in the Middle East and Uefa said: “After much discussion between Uefa and the organising authorities in Qatar, we can announce that due to the current political situation in the region, the Finalissima cannot be played as hoped in Qatar on 27 March.” The two teams were unable to agree on an alternative option and the match was cancelled.The final will be contested by two managers without any top-division experience at club level. Luis de la Fuente, who was dismissed after 11 games at third division Alavés, has been coaching Spain at various age groups since 2013. Lionel Scaloni has pretty much only managed the Argentinian national team – apart from six matches in charge of the Under-20s. Having already won the Euros, Copa América and World Cup between them, the pair have shown that elite club experience is not mandatory for international management.Apart from the extra rest day, Spain may be fresher anyway having finished all of their games in 90 minutes. Argentina have played extra time twice and have logged 794 minutes compared with Spain’s 717. The South Americans faced similar circumstances in Qatar where they played an extra 30 minutes in the quarter-final. Will a squad largely four years older have enough energy in reserve?While temperatures are not expected to be unbearably high, the National Weather Service issued an air-quality alert due to wildfire smoke drifting from Canada. The New York Office of Emergency Management said that air-quality levels in the city had reached “very unhealthy” levels on Thursday, but conditions have improved significantly. Spain have been relatively protected from such environmental factors throughout their campaign, having played one of their seven matches in a fully outdoor stadium. Argentina have played outside three times, including two occasions where temperatures reached 32C.The sides have played once at the tournament, Argentina winning 2-1 in 1966. Luis Artime scored both goals for the South Americans and you can read the Guardian’s report from the match here.

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The reigning champions may need to continue outperforming their xG to overcome Spain’s superb defensive recordThe World Cup final will feature the champions of South America and Europe for the first time. Argentina and Spain sit first and second in Fifa’s world ranking of men’s international teams. Opta’s supercomputer rated Luis de la Fuente’s side as favourites to win the tournament, with their opponents on Sunday deemed fourth likeliest.Both systems had England and France in their top four, suggesting the semi-finals featured the correct teams. But do the statistics from the World Cup indicate we have the best pair for the final?Spain are unbeaten in 37 matches (excluding penalty shootouts) while Argentina have won their past 14 games. That is a reasonable starting point for justification, even before we dig into the data.The teams are, unsurprisingly, among the leaders for expected goals, though both have benefited from penalties. Stripping those out and factoring in time played reveals several teams had better pro-rata records. No team that reached the quarter-finals outperformed their non-penalty xG per 90 minutes by more than Argentina though.Given Spain’s defensive record, Argentina may need that trend to continue if they are to retain their crown. What Spain have achieved in protecting their goal should be talked about for years to come if they win their second World Cup.Spain have conceded 2.15 expected goals, a miserly 0.31 per match. It is comfortably the best record and an elite level of defensive consistency over seven games. Five teams allowed their opponents more than 2.15 xG in their first match, with 41 having crossed that mark by the end of the group stage.If this sounds like a significant advantage for Spain, it is not so clearcut. Argentina were the last of the other 47 teams to concede more than 2.15 xG , doing so when Yasser Ibrahim put Egypt 1-0 up in the last-16. The Argentinians can’t match Spain’s incredible defensive record, but no other team has kept a closer pace.It seems unlikely set pieces will be a factor. These sides are among the best defences in dead-ball situations without having been especially strong in attack. Would you bet against Lionel Messi converting his second direct free-kick goal of the tournament though?If that is unlikely, even for him, Messi has taken the most shots on either side (34, including two penalties). However, Lamine Yamal (23) and Mikel Oyarzabal (22, one penalty) are second and third respectively. While the former can be prone to firing at goal from poor locations, the latter has the best expected goals per shot average for either team (0.15).Or at least he does for those with a shot sample of at least 10; Mikel Merino (0.35) and Lautaro Martínez (0.22) have higher figures and may have a vital role to play from the bench. Both are adept at profiting from big chances in key moments. With the teams being similarly strong, a substitute may well prove decisive.Opta give Spain a 45% chance of winning in 90 minutes with Argentina rated as a 26% shot. The tournament data suggests it should be closer than their prediction implies.

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France beaten 6-4 on ‘very emotional’ day for squad‘This will help – but you never fully celebrate bronze’Thomas Tuchel has said England’s players can be proud of their efforts after a thrilling 6-4 victory over France sealed third place at the World Cup for the first time.England raced into a 4-0 lead at half-time thanks to goals from Declan Rice – the stand-in captain – Ezri Konsa and two from Bukayo Saka. But they were pegged back to within one goal after Didier Deschamps, taking charge of his final France game after 14 years, rang the changes at the break. Kylian Mbappé took his tally at this tournament to 10 goals and 22 at World Cups in total as he pushed to win a second successive Golden Boot and surpassed Lionel Messi’s all-time record. The Argentina forward will have a chance to overhaul him in Sunday’s final against Spain.Saka completed his hat-trick before Ousmane Dembélé made it 5-4 in injury-time and it was left to Jude Bellingham to have the final say after coming off the bench with his seventh goal of the tournament – the most by an England player at a World Cup.England were within five minutes plus stoppages of reaching their first World Cup final on foreign soil until Messi inspired the reigning champions’ late comeback in Atlanta on Wednesday. Tuchel, who was booed by some supporters when his name was read out before kick-off here, said in the buildup to this match that England had to show they were capable of cutting the gap to the leading nations. After hanging on for the win against the 2018 world champions, he has challenged his players to keep improving, starting with their Nations League meeting with Spain at Wembley on 26 September.“This game will help us for sure – even if you can never fully celebrate a bronze medal,” Tuchel said. “It’s the first [World Cup] medal for 60 years, first [at a] World Cup on foreign soil, and I hope the players can be proud of that at some point. We set ourselves the highest dream to chase, and we were very, very ambitious with our dream to make the final in the World Cup. So it’s very, very painful if you miss out, the pain will stay for a while.”Tuchel revealed that Jordan Henderson had delivered a speech before the game that had helped to put their achievement in perspective. “He put us in the right frame of mind, with everyone in one mindset. It was unbelievable because today was very emotional. We built something very special in the last seven weeks, and we’ll never negotiate on that. I still stand by my words, that we need to play better football, manage games better under pressure, take better decisions under pressure. We need to defend more economically.”Tuchel’s assistant, Anthony Barry, had given an emotional half-time interview when England were 4-0 up when he expressed surprise at the level of the performance given that they were “playing a game with broken hearts”. “The cynics will say it’s too late but we still play against a world-class opponent and I’m so proud of the boys,” he told the BBC. “There’s 45 minutes to go. The game’s not done. Anything can happen. But I’m proud of the team and I hope everyone is as well at home.”Saka was an unused substitute against Argentina and the Arsenal forward admitted he was disappointed not to have been involved. “Of course I would love to have played more but it’s too late to talk about that,” he said. “I try to do my talking on the pitch and it’s done now – let’s move on.“We fell short against Argentina. It hurts a lot. I’m sure it’s the same for the fans back home. We have to hold our heads high and move on. Obviously we’re both quite disappointed to not be in the final but it was about finishing strong and for us giving the country the best position in the World Cup they have finished for 60 years, so we’re happy with the final result.”Zinedine Zidane is poised to take over from Deschamps, who became only the third person to win the World Cup as a player and manager and said he was departing with no regrets after reaching the 2018 and 2022 finals.“I could have changed eight of them at half-time,” he joked about his team’s first-half display. “It is the end of a journey that has represented the most beautiful period of my life. I always put the French team first. You can be called by the best clubs in the world but there is nothing above this national team. We have faced the greatest moments and I’m hoping for the team to reach new levels when I’m gone.”

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Where to start with this rollercoaster of a match? Thomas Tuchel had promised a reaction but he could not have imagined the manner of the response from England, albeit against a France team firmly on their sunloungers during an incredible first half in which they conceded four times.Yet with Kylian Mbappé on the hunt for his second successive Golden Boot in Didier Deschamps’ last match in charge of Les Bleus, even that lead courtesy of goals from Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and two from Bukayo Saka almost wasn’t enough. Mbappé began the comeback straight after half-time before adding his second after Bradley Barcola’s strike. The 27-year-old has become the first male player to reach double figures at a World Cup since Gerd Müller in 1970. Over to you, Lionel.Thankfully for England, Saka’s late penalty to complete his hat-trick and Jude Bellingham’s seventh of the tournament after he came off the bench ensured that an afternoon that had begun with boos for Tuchel from some supporters ended with England claiming third place at the World Cup for the first time. Although the scars of their semi-final loss to Argentina will remain, they at least rounded off their campaign with a memorable victory.Miami’s leaden skies throughout the day had matched the mood of both teams as they tried to put on a brave face after semi-final exits. As well as his attempt to overhaul Lionel Messi, Mbappé had extra motivation along with his teammates to send Deschamps off into the sunset with a victory after 14 years at the helm. The Real Madrid star published a message on social media in the hours before kick-off thanking the man who guided France to a second world title in 2018 and came so close four years later. “Today is your last dance,” he wrote.Tuchel signed a contract extension before this tournament and has indicated he wants to lead England into Euro 2028 on home soil. However after a tetchy pre-match press conference here on Friday night when the German doubled down on the conviction that he would make the same decisions again given the chance against Argentina, the next two years look set to be a test of his ability to rebuild his reputation among England’s supporters. The reception Harry Kane and the rest were given after England received their bronze medals suggested the players’ effort over the past five weeks has been fully appreciated.Like Deschamps, Tuchel made seven changes from the semi-final, with Rice surprisingly named captain in place of Kane despite carrying an injury for the entire tournament. Arsenal, who have serious concerns about how long William Saliba is likely to be sidelined with a back injury, will not have been delighted to find Saka starting either.There was also intrigue in the absence from the bench of Kobbie Mainoo, the Manchester United midfielder who has not played a minute at the World Cup. The Football Association said he was injured, although Jordan Henderson was listed among the substitutes despite the broken arm sustained celebrating England’s win over Mexico.At first, France seemed to be suffering from more of a hangover. Désiré Doué’s loose pass in the third minute was seized upon by Rice and his finish left Mike Maignan with no chance. Mbappé managed to tread on the ball just as he was speeding through on goal before Saka had a goal from an exquisite Morgan Rogers pass chalked off for offside. It needed a block from Maxence Lacroix to halt Saka’s next attack before Konsa beat his marker, Adrien Rabiot, to nod in Rice’s corner. England looked as if they had a point to prove.Marcus Rashford embarrassed Warren Zaïre-Emery with a nutmeg before unleashing a powerful shot that was well saved by Maignan. At the other end, Dean Henderson brilliantly denied Mbappé, who had cut in from the left, before another save ended up kickstarting the move for England’s third on the break. There was something comical about the way Rashford and Saka took turns trying to score before the latter eventually did. A brilliant pass from Eberechi Eze set up Saka’s second on the stroke of half-time. France’s players looked stunned, even if Mbappé tried his best to laugh it off.Deschamps responded by making four changes at the break, including Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola. They had pulled one back within three minutes when Mbappé finished Olise’s through ball after the England substitute Ollie Watkins lost possession. It was not long before Barcola was sprinting back to halfway with the ball tucked under an arm after making it 4-2. Mbappé added his second after exchanging passes with Olise on the edge of England’s area and suddenly Tuchel’s side were really wobbling.Somehow Olise could not hit the target to force extra time after toying with England’s defence. Bellingham and Elliot Anderson had been summoned from the bench by that stage and it was left to the former and Saka, who did not get off the bench against Argentina, to hammer the final nails into France’s coffin. Between times Dembélé pulled another goal back in this incredible spectacle that will surely go down as the game of the tournament.

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Hospitality and secondary ticket market help fuel riseGianni Infantino will feel this shores up his positionFifa’s member associations were informed of the boost in income by Gianni Infantino on Saturday. Originally the governing body had projected $11bn in earnings. Sources have indicated that hospitality and ticketing, especially through the steeply priced secondary market, account for a significant amount of the increase. Fifa takes 15% from the buyer and another 15% from the seller on the secondary market.It is likely that football associations will reap the benefits of Fifa’s expanded World Cup pot, although details are yet to be finalised. The financial situation will come as a boost to Infantino, who will feel it further shores up his position after a controversy-ridden month in the United States, Canada and Mexico.There was widespread fury after Fifa was perceived to have bowed to pressure from Donald Trump in suspending the red card given to Folarin Balogun, the US striker, against Paraguay in the last 16. Fifa has said the decision was taken independently by its disciplinary committee but that has continued to fester among European FAs in particular. Infantino has nevertheless received more than 200 pledges of support from Fifa’s member associations for his re-election in March. The prospect of extra funds from bumper World Cup revenue is likely to dissuade some FAs from making any discontent public.Such a bonanza may also increase the chances of the US hosting another edition in the near future. The next World Cup available for bids is the 2038 tournament. At a reception on Friday, Trump confirmed his country’s eagerness for a repeat performance. “You should choose the United States of America again,” he said. “This time we will leave Canada and Mexico out.” The US has also held talks with Fifa about hosting the Club World Cup in 2029.On Saturday evening VIP and hospitality packages for Sunday’s final between Spain and Argentina, which will be played in New Jersey, were still listed on Fifa’s ticketing portal. Tickets for the “trophy lounge” were retailing at $34,500 per person.

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Lee Matthews gets in touch: “On TT, I don’t think we all want to play the ‘blame game’ as he says. I think we just want to understand what happened. I think we could move on if he could help us understand what it was like to make that decision under the stressful conditions he and his team were experiencing.“Sat at home, we can say what we’d do without having to face the consequences. If he could open up and talk us through it, we could understand. More than any other tournament exit, I’m frustrated - my first WC was 1986. If he keeps saying he has ‘no regrets’ and these keep being the headlines, he’ll lose everyone’s support for good. Going for it tonight could help. Win or lose, if he goes for it, he can show what a post-WC TT England team will look like. Open up and talk to us TT and please go for it tonight… Fingers crossed….”