Toluwani Lasisi
Spain 
and Argentina 
battled it out in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, but Lionel Scaloni’s side was completely stifled by Spain’s dynamic young squad from the opening whistle through extra time.
With this triumph, Spain manager Luis de la Fuente became the first in football history to complete a sweep of major international trophies—having previously captured the U-19 Euros, U-21 Euros, UEFA Nations League, and UEFA Euro 2024 before lifting the World Cup.
Not a few pundits will, however, find Scaloni too scanty in terms of ideas.
How come he had no answer to the Spanish challenge throughout the game?
And Lionel Messi and his colleagues too have to share in the blame: was that the best counter-scheme they could muster on the pitch?
Unfortunately, some of them thought rough play was a way out.
It is cool that, on the other hand, De la Fuente’s tactics build on the deep-rooted Spanish philosophy of tiki-taka, defined by positional control and combination passing. However, his iteration is significantly faster and more direct than past eras, placing a heavy premium on dynamic wide wingers like Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams to stretch opposing defenses.
Using this evolved blueprint, Spain dispatched Portugal and 2018 World Cup champions France before running riot over Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
La Roja completely dictated the tempo throughout the 120 minutes, depriving the South American champions of sustained possession and preventing them from mounting meaningful attacks.
