Spain –
Argentina – 1:0 (Torres, 106).
After this
finale, I immediately remembered a phrase that was allegedly uttered by either
legendary basketball coach John Wooden or American football coach Paul Bryan,
in Russian football hockey coach Viktor Tikhonov and football mentor Oleg
Romantsev referred to it: "The team wins, the coach loses." The
audience is savoring Lionel Messi's tears and Lamin Yamal's generous
consolation, but no one is paying attention to the system built by Luis de la
Fuente. Unfairly.
The fact
that star Argentina did not land a single accurate shot on the Spaniards' goal
is the merit of all the players in the middle line, but the mentor controls
this system. And the goal was scored by rotation player Ferran Torres from a
pass from another reserve, Nico Williams, who came out instead of Alex Baena.
One more
thing I noticed in the final: most of Emiliano Martinez's shots on goal flew
right into his hands. It was as if the goalkeeper of Aston Villa was attracting
the balls to himself with a magnet.
Argentina
coach Lionel Scaloni had to replace Lisandro Martinez in the first half. In one
of the Spaniards' attacks, he violated the rules on Michele Oyaarzabal and
received a card, but he also injured himself. He was replaced by 38-year-old
Benfica captain Nicolas Otamendi, becoming the oldest player in the World Cup
finals. Giuliano Simeone, who came on in the 70th minute instead of Rodrigo de
Paul, could have saved the coach's reputation. But with Messi's pass, he missed
the goal.…
And Ferran
Torres' historic goal in the 106th minute happened after a cross into the
corner of Pedro Porro's goal, where Nico Williams won the upper hand and
knocked his head back under Ferran Torres' shot. Nahuel Molina, who replaced
Gonzalo Montiel in the 58th minute, did not fight for the ball here. Here's the
difference between reservists: one makes an assist, and the other loses.…
Then Ferran
Torres scored another goal, which was cancelled out due to offside. Basically,
Spain repeated the golden double of the 2010 World Cup, winning its first title
immediately after winning the 2008 European Championship. Then the generation
of Andreas Iniesta, Fernando Torres, and Juan Mata won the 2012 European
Championship final, scoring four unanswered goals against Gianluigi Buffon in
the final.…
Let's see
what Luis de la Fuente's team will be able to achieve at the 2028 European
Championship. It won't be long! And Messi doesn't need to be mourned, Lionel
played just great for his age. Even if he didn't take the Golden Ball awarded
by Rhodri.
