Experience and energy the key as Spain and Argentina prepare for World Cup final
As the largest Fifa Men’s World Cup finally draws to a close, match 104 sees holders Argentina face European champions Spain in the final. Ahead of the showpiece encounter, Football Benchmark has crunched the numbers to see who has the most experience, energy and social media momentum going into the game.
The first-ever 48-team FIFA World Cup is down to two nations competing for football’s most coveted prize. And while the expanded format means fans themselves likely feel fatigued – after a gruelling schedule that included scintillating match-ups including Ecuador vs Curaçao, Türkiye vs Paraguay, and Canada vs Bosnia and Herzegovina – things are even worse for the players heading into the tournament’s final fixture.
As the individual magic of Argentina meets the fluid teamwork of Spain, which team ultimately takes home the trophy may well hinge simply on who has most left in the tank. Examining the analysis of Football Benchmark, that might be Spain. Because Argentina have been taken to extra time on two occasions in the North American festival of football, two of there players have recorded the most minutes of any player during the tournament. And while goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez is unlikely to be heavily impacted by that workload, it is likely to weigh heavier on midfield dynamo Alexis Mac Allister – especially if extra time looms once more.
By virtue of surviving until the last game, five Spanish players also find themselves in the top 10 longest serving players at the tournament. However, while – with five each – that is an even split, only Spain’s rubber-limbed talisman Marc Cucurella comes from a position which demands constant running, as an overlapping left-back. In contrast, Argentina’s most physically put-upon players include box-to-box midfielder Enzo Fernández, striker-disguised-as-centre-back Cristian Romero, and eternal dribbler Lionel Messi. And while Messi’s remarkable ability to chose his moments when spending a sudden burst of energy, against the relentless press of Spain, this match poses a very different proposition.
Road to New York-New Jersey
Indeed, Football Benchmark highlights the contrasting nature of the two teams’ progress in its research. Both teams had relatively straight-forward groups. In the knockouts, Spain seem to have on paper had a much tougher route to the final – including 2022 finalists France, Nations League holders Portugal, Belgium and Austria on the way. But it was Argentina who made harder work of their progress – being taken all the way to 120 minutes by Cabo Verde and Switzerland, and scraping past Egypt and England in the dying moments of added time.
Of course, there is the matter that even grinding out unconvincing wins against opposition perceived as ‘weaker’ can still help build momentum in a football tournament. And there is the fact that neither team actually managed to defeat Cabo Verde – the surprise package of this World Cup – in normal time, (with the Blue Sharks’ 40-year-old goalkeeper eclipsing the social media growth of every Spain and Argentina star – gaining 18 million Instagram followers for his heroics, compared to Messi’s additional 6 million, or Lamine Yamal’s additional 3.4 million). That suggests Spain and Argentina may be closer in their capabilities than their approaches suggest.
Styles clash
Argentina’s title-defence has been built on outscoring the opposition in every game – technically the only way to win a football match. And they have scored a huge 19 goals along the way, with Lionel Messi in line for a first golden boot at Fifa’s tournament – proving that experience goes a long way. But while their average age (29.1, compared to Spain’s 26.7) means their players know how to respond when they go behind – the fact remains, they often do go behind, and have shipped seven goals on the way to the New York-New Jersey stadium.
Meanwhile, Spain’s more measured approach has been built on controlled possession and defensive grit, which enabled them to completely nullify the threats of Kyllian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé in the semi-final, and arrive having only conceded one goal. On the flip-side, they have managed an impressive – but still smaller – tally of 13 goals.
A good horse only jumps as high as it needs, as the adage goes. Perhaps that will be enough for Spain once more. But – as England found when they tried to park the bus in their semi-final defeat – against the reigning champions, featuring a player still described as the greatest of all time – despite being 39 – the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Even if, as Football Benchmark’s Player Valuation Platform notes, Spain’s squad was worth €1.47 billion before the tournament, almost 80% higher than Argentina’s €818 million. Those inflated transfer fees arguably just illustrate the stronger selling-position of monied La Liga clubs than Argentinian teams producing talent – and such an arbitrary figure is unlikely to really hint at a winner.
To that end, Football Benchmark’s own conclusion concurs, “Spain and Argentina arrive in the final with very different profiles. On the 19th of July, however, all of those differences will give way to a single objective: becoming world champions.”
