And now, for a final flourish
A world and European double for Spain or a first since 1962 for Argentina?
And then there were two. Spain stand between Argentina being the first country since Brazil in 1962 to retain the World Cup. Another way of looking at Sunday’s final is that Argentina can stop Spain from completing a world and European double in the 104th game of a tournament where the football has been delightful. The Finalissima that didn’t happen last year due to the crisis in West Asia will now take place in New Jersey.
A different beast
A team with technically adept players will be up against one that does not give up. And have Lionel Messi. There were times when Messi’s farewell looked imminent but Argentina have managed to take it to the last game. Win and Messi will go where even Diego Maradona has not. Argentina play through him but also play for him and the desire to give Messi a happy ending gets them, like MS Dhoni in his pomp, to find a way.
England found that out after Cabo Verde, Egypt and Switzerland did. Like Dhoni, Argentina stay calm under pressure. And because they do, it is their opponents who panic. Messi and Lamine Yamal up against each other is the kind of headline everyone loves but football’s more complicated than that. Or that this is a contest between the team that has scored the most (Argentina, 19) and one that has conceded the least (Spain, one). Spain smothered France but this is a different beast.
Because most of the world tunes in, even if football is a once-in-a-four-year thing for many of them, moments in the World Cup live on. Pele’s dummy against Uruguay, Diego Maradona’s journey from ridiculous to sublime in four minutes and Kylian Mbappe’s goal against Morocco become reference points for entire editions. Messi alone can be a reference point for six editions.
It explains why, 36 years after it happened, memories of Roger Milla dispossessing Jose Higuita and Paul Gascoigne’s tears have not faded. So, it will be with Lucas Digne and Thomas Tuchel.
About Tuchel first. He was brought to help England add a second star (his words). Through the qualifiers (where England were not tested), through tough love on Jude Bellingham and – this is important – through his substitutions in this World Cup, Tuchel showed why he is among football’s elite, why he could stop Manchester City and win Chelsea the Champions League.
Things fall apart
And then came the semi-final where Tuchel became so safety-first that it helped Argentina find a way in. Argentina are older, slower and do not press. England had players on the bench who could test them (Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka). Trying to shut out three-time world champions who have in their ranks the planet’s best player felt like what England shouldn’t do.
Now about Digne. The left back is 32 which means he may not play another World Cup. Digne not being aware of where Yamal was will be how most will remember the under-20 World Cup winner who has played for Paris St-Germain and Barcelona before forging a solid career in the Premier League.
Till he swung a leg, Spain had the ball but France were sharp when they did. But once Spain scored, they gradually but smoothly shut France out. Lamine Yamal had Digne’s number but apart from winning the penalty, he will be remembered for his defensive work. That is why Spain were impenetrable for a team with world-class attackers.
Could France have coped better if, as Joe Cole suggested in “The Rest Is Football” show, they had shifted Dembele to the left and sacrificed an attacker for three in the midfield? We will never know but given how well they pressed Morocco, it is not difficult to see why Didier Deschamps didn’t want to fix something that wasn’t broken.
Almost perfect
As it turned out, with three defenders and two midfielders always protecting Unai Simon’s goal, France never had space. “You spend so much energy chasing the ball that by the time you get it, you are already exhausted,” said Kylian Mbappe.
The night of misery for one full back, Digne, became a memorable one for another, Pedro Porro. It is one thing to plan this and quite another to execute it against a team that till the semi-final had found answers to every question thrown at them.
No team could tire France as much and it showed in regulation passes being overcooked or Desire Doue hesitating to shoot even when Simon was out of his goal. And though they were chasing the game, France knew the directness of Yamal and Nico Williams could hurt them.
Spain produced a masterclass in possession, blocking out passing lanes and suffocating a vaunted attack. Michael Olise came into the game with five assists. He lost the ball 20 times, failed to complete one dribble and didn’t last the full game. “This is a team working together, trusting the system, sacrificing for each other. When football is played like that, you can only respect it,” said Juergen Klopp. Football’s too complex for it to be perfect but having come so close, can Spain do it again?
PLAY OF THE WEEK
GRAPHICS BY PRIJIT SASHIDHARAN
IN OTHER NEWS
Greenwood at Fener
Former England forward Mason Greenwood signed for Fenerbahce to join his third club in three years since being banished from Manchester United. AP reported a Fenerbahce statement saying it will pay Marseille €39 million and gave the 24-year-old Greenwood a four-year contract. Fenerbahce have not won the Turkish league since 2014, while fierce city rivals Galatasaray have captured seven titles in that time including the last four.
Open till 3.30am in Guwahati
The Assam government has said that restaurants in Guwahati will be allowed to remain open till 3.30 am on select days to enable football fans to watch the World Cup, reports PTI. In a post on X, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said football unites people, and the state government wants sports lovers to enjoy matches without inconvenience. “I have authorised the district administration in Guwahati to extend restaurant operating hours till 3.30 am on July 15, 16, 19 and 20 to facilitate fans to watch the matches,” he said. Sarma said he has authorised the administrations in other districts to permit similar extensions, wherever there is a request from restaurant owners’ associations and public demand. “Enjoy the beautiful game responsibly,” he said.
Tielemens, Trossard change clubs
Manchester United have signed Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans on a five-year contract from Aston Villa, reports AP. The announcement of the deal for Tielemans for a reported £35 million comes a day after Brazil midfielder Andrey Santos joined from Chelsea. United are looking to overhaul the midfield this summer following the departure of Casemiro. In other Premier League transfer news, Arsenal have announced that Tielemans’s Belgium teammate Leandro Trossard is moving to Besiktas. Trossard is the first of the English champion’s title-winning squad to leave the club.
Forlan, Bilic take charge
Slaven Bilic, a member of the 1998 Croatia team that finished third, will take over from Zlatko Dalic who has stepped down after nine years in charge, the football federation has said, reports Reuters. Bilic, 57, returns to the national setup after previously coaching Croatia’s Under-21 side before a six-year spell in charge of the senior team, during which he oversaw 65 matches. In other news, Diego Forlan, who finished fourth in the 2010 World Cup, has been named temporary replacement for Marcelo Bielsa as Uruguay head coach, as per AFP.
Dutch ref dead
Dutch referee Rob Dieperink has died at the age of 38, two months after he was left out of the panel of match officials for the 2026 World Cup following a police case in Britain that was later dropped, reports AP. No cause of death has been revealed. ”With Rob, we lose a highly valued referee, but above all a kind and dedicated colleague,” the Dutch football association said in a statement. Dieperink had been selected as part of the video assistant referee (VAR) panel at the World Cup, but was removed in May after he had been arrested the previous month by Metropolitan Police. The case was dropped due to a lack of evidence. “It saddens me greatly that I have been wrongly accused,” Dieperink said in an interview with De Telegraaf.
Leon for London City
Spain international Mapi Leon has signed for Women’s Super League club London City Lionesses on a three-year deal, reports Reuters. The 31-year-old defender joins the English side after a trophy-laden nine-year spell at Barcelona, winning four Women’s Champions League titles among numerous domestic and European honours. Leon has also made more than 50 appearances for Spain. “I played in Spain for many years and felt now was the right time to move because of the project here,” she said in a statement. Also moving to London from Barcelona is defender Ona Batlle who is joining Arsenal, reports AP.
Punjab FC name coach
Greek tactician Pavlos Dermitzakis will replace Panagiotis Dilmperis as Punjab FC coach for this season, the club has announced. The 57-year-old joins from Greek Super League 2 side Panionios F.C on a two-year contract bringing with him over two decades of coaching experience across the Greek football pyramid, including the country’s top division, Punjab FC have said.
India U17 draw
India were drawn with Malaysia, Syria and Iraq in Group E of the AFC Women's Under-17 Asian Cup Qualifiers to be held in Kuala Lumpur from October 5 to 11, reports PTI. The draw was conducted at the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) House in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. India will begin their campaign against Iraq, followed by matches against Syria and Malaysia. The group winners will qualify for the under-17 Women’s Asian Cup in Suzhou, China, from March 31 to April 17 next year.
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ICONIC MOMENT
Heroes’ welcome for Norway
Around 90,000 people welcomed back Norway players to Oslo on Monday after they returned home from making a historic run to the World Cup quarter-finals, reports AFP. The crowd packed the square in front of the royal palace in Norway's capital city as the squad arrived around, and performed the now famous "Viking Row". Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway, the heir apparent to the country of 5.6 million's throne, led the celebration with a drum. The country’s airline also showed itself to be a good sport by honouring its social media wager with British Airways and changed its Instagram profile picture to BA's logo for a day after England's 2-1 victory in the World Cup quarter-final, as per a Reuters report.
THEY SAID IT
That’s all for this week. As always, I look forward to your feedback. You can either write to me at dhiman@htlive.com, or reply to this mail.