Rarely has such a thunderous “goool” been heard in my Barcelona neighborhood as the two from last night. Argentina will be in the final thanks to eight final minutes of madness, a positive event for football and adverse to Spain’s interests because it’s hard to finish off the Albiceleste, especially with England’s ultra-conservative approach. Something tells us that, in England, they will say Tuchel is German. A monumental betrayal of the spirit of English football, although it never served them much.
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For the fourth time in this World Cup, Argentina resolved it in the decisive stretch. These things don’t happen by chance. And this time it was not against a tender team – cases like Cape Verde, Egypt, and Switzerland – but against an England that took the lead in the 55th minute and is full of experienced players. The defensive strengthening conveyed weakness to an Argentina whose football is based on the lack of options: only winning counts.
Messi will say goodbye in a final and Spain is unable to repeat England’s ultra-conservative approach
Lionel Scaloni is the Argentine version of Luis de la Fuente: low profile in public, interventionist in substitutions, which always come at a cost. Go for the win, was the message from the bench when Argentina was five minutes from elimination.
And Lionel Messi, the star who was going to stay at Barça thanks to a barbecue, as if the guy were stupid and Joan Laporta a genius. There he was, playing the full 90 minutes, clarifying the Argentine attack against what seemed like an impenetrable wall. The pass to Enzo, alone at the edge of the box, and a cross – another one – so measured and sweet it seemed like a kiss magnified the figure of the 10 , a guarantee of composure in crucial moments. His farewell couldn’t be in a semifinal or, worse, in the third-place match, another FIFA farce that goes all out in the USA to harm football. Bronze medals are better left for the Olympics. And not to mention the nonsense of a thirty-minute break. It wouldn’t hurt if the two finalists complained about such absurdity.
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The 2026 World Cup has had the most soporific first halves in history and England-Argentina was no exception. If matches were a movie, cinemas would empty halfway through because, basically, nothing happens. The ball moves from one foot to another, one step forward, two passes back so teams don’t take risks and coaches don’t suffer from loss of control. Except for the first hard tackles – the so-called “warnings” – from the Argentines, nothing. Not a shot on goal, no dangerous situations, and no less than 19 fouls.
It was not, however, a battle. Nor a war. England retreated at the first opportunity, something Spain will hardly do on Sunday. A magnificent final.
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