19 July 26
Campeones
It has been a long five weeks of watching World Cup football, but PIca and I are very happy with the final result, Spain winning the tournament with a 1-0 victory over Argentina in extra time. It was a dire final match — Spain dominated possession both sides of the pitch and Argentina falling back on their trademark dirty play. This did not help them however: by the end of regulation they had no shots either on or off goal. We were relieved when Ferran Torres finally got a goal for Spain in the 106th minute, though feared this would inspire Argentina to come back in a final flurry of action as they did against Egypt or England. But Spain held on.
The final was reminiscent of Spain’s victory in the 2010 World Cup final over the Netherlands, with Spain having a beautifully precise passing game and the Netherlands resorting to brutish fouling. Unlike Argentina, the Netherlands did manage to get some shots on goal in that game. Spain won in extra time 1-0 in that match as well.
(I was happy to read that the Netherlands were given the Fair Play Award in this year’s tournament. This is given to the team with the best disciplinary record that reaches the knockout rounds. The Netherlands only received three yellow cards all tournament. It looks like they have redeemed themselves, and I don’t mind rooting for the Oranje again. Their nation has been so important for how football developed, and the Spanish system directly evolved out of what the Dutch built in the 1970s.)
This was a tournament where the big stars predictably got all the hype — Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham — but it was won by a group that played incredibly well together as a team. Spain’s biggest star, Lamine Yamal, did not dazzle but he absolutely contributed to their victory. He is only 19, and has a lot of time to grow as a player.
It has been thirty-two years since the World Cup was last in this country, and soccer has grown tremendously in the United States since then. I am hopeful this World Cup will mark another upward inflection point in the growth of the game here.
I’m looking forward to the Women’s World Cup in Brazil in 2027! Spain won the Women’s World Cup in 2023, so for the first time in history, the same country holds both the men’s and women’s titles.
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