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All right, Nick and Andy, all comes down to this. Let's preview and give our predictions for the World Cup final in New Jersey on Sunday. Spain against Argentina. This is going to be epic. We got the reigning European champions against the reigning South American champions, and it's been 60 years since they played in the World Cup against each other, which is pretty incredible to think about. Um, Nick, you were in Dallas for Spain's semi-final win against France, where they which they breezed to, which they made look very easy, which was incredible. And it seems like they've made the final without really breaking sweat in this tournament. It's been incredible the control they've had uh throughout this
entire tournament. Um, do you think that they are the overwhelming favorites? and Lamin Yal, we're all waiting for him to show up and be the difference maker in a key moment at this World Cup. He's been very good, but it feels like the stage is set for him, right? It does. I'll say this again, being in the mix zone the other night and forgetting that this larger than-l life character just turned 19. It is amazing. He looks 19. He looks young. you see all these huge people walking by you and you realize that um it takes such a special talent to be thriving at his age. There was a moment late against France where he was spinning and turning
and keeping the ball where you realize, hey, yeah, he hasn't sto in a tournament full of stars, he hasn't had that moment yet, but yet he's had a lot of just consistently strong performances and it does feel set up for him to maybe have it. I think the line I used in my article about it is that a prince and his court, his surrounding group kind of took a coronation away from Killian Mbappe who when you're just think about that. Think about what it took to beat France at this tournament and that pressure and that focus and they shut it down. And Andy, could you imagine what a team would look like if they had Porro, Romero, and Spence all across their back line?
Leave me alone. No. So, uh, yeah, Spain is a special looking group. Yeah, poor Pedro has to go back to North London soon. I'm sorry, my friend. Andy, obviously all the focus and Nick spoke about it earlier. Um, it's been on midfield for Spain, the control, the possession, Rodri, Fabian, Ruiz, the way that Pedri, it's just incredible the talent they have there. Um, is that the difference for Spain and why they are the favorites? And uh we know we'll talk about Argentina, the destiny, Messi, etc. But when you look at it from a pure non-emotional footballing point of view, Spain can just basically hold you at arms length, right? And that's what
they've been doing to all the best teams for a while now. Um and just Rodri is great to see him come back so strong at this tournament. Yeah, we I don't know how I didn't see this coming. Uh, I've been watching American football my whole life, and everybody here knows that a strong run game and a great defense always beats the high-flying passing attack in December and January when the games matter the most. And that's exactly what this was. The way this, you know, Spain's possession uh is the run game. Rodri is the great defense and he is he has brought that back to this team and organized them and marshaled them uh
and led them and defended and passed and just done every single bit of the game for this team uh during this run. And it's been incredible to watch. It's it's been great for the sport and as guys that cover the Premier League uh the way that we do. We shouldn't say it was a surprise, but I don't think we automatically expected him to get back to that level at any point after the injury. We hoped. We hope to. Yeah, you hope because the players like him and obviously there's one on the other side, maybe a couple on the other side for Argentina, but players like him don't come along very often. And he is he's a unicorn in a way that
defensive midfielders typically don't get talked about. you know, he is the uh you know, he's the star of the team. Uh or maybe I should say the most important player of the team. Yamal is certainly the star, but I think these are the two best uh teams. Not talent, not, you know, the most notoriety, but it's the two teams that work the best together for each other um and seem to have the best camaraderie as well. Yeah. And that experience of winning things together is obviously huge when it comes down to it. Uh Nick, um Argentina destiny is the main word that basically is coming up here because they have the opportunity here to just be the
third team in history to go back to back and win a men's World Cup. Um that's been driving them on this entire tournament. Their players been talking about how much they're running for Messi and to do this for him and for his legacy to uh go out on this because we assume this is going to be his last ever World Cup game. I think that's all fair to say. We never know with him, but um I mean he's turned it on in moments throughout the tournament, but it's been great to see recently in these knockout rounds, Julian Alvarez, Lataro stepping up with big goals and moments um just to help him. Um but obviously he makes them tick. He's the X factor and then you add in their fans, the
intensity of it all. And again, being at that semi-final victory against England and Atlanta, the way that everything came together, perfect storm for Argentina just dragged them to this final. um you wouldn't bet against them doing the same thing against Spain. Even though if you look across the pitch in the individual battles, you'd say, "Yep, Spain's got the edge in probably six or seven of those at least." Uh but there's a there's just so much passion and so much just narrative on Argentina's side here. Um that I don't know, this is 50/50 again for me probably. Yeah. I look at something that maybe kind of takes a narrative and throws it on its head sometimes. Is this a very Pep Guardiola
final? These are of all the knockout round teams. These are one and two in final third passes made and completed per 90 minutes. And these are teams that now granted Argentina probably had about a million of them in the final 20 minutes against England because when they were pressing for it, but they just keep going for it and it is a they are systems that are again first half against England aside when it was literally just WWE. um their systems designed to keep the ball but to move it into places with the most amount of danger. And that's why I fear I think what's going to happen at the end of this final is the people who don't like soccer are going to focus on the embellishment and the tickytacky fouls and the
gamesmanship and the people who love the game are going to be like that was a spectacle. So I do think it favors Spain except the playmakers. The playmakers even right down to Enzo Fernandez. Are they more on the side of Argentina? It's a great point, right Andy? I think when we look at those individual sort of areas, um Argentina just have had that extra I don't know what it is. Just it's something you can't explain sometimes, right? Just the belief, the confidence, the actual ability to pull it off. um they have more of those players than Spain at this tournament in terms of the clinical edge. But yeah, the more and more I'm talking about this, I'm leaning more towards maybe Argentina. I don't know. This is really
tough. You know what else they got more of? They got more scrappers in that team and we have not seen Spain, I don't think metaphorically here, get punched in the mouth. They have been able to do what they want. They haven't, you know, they struggled in the opening game against Cape Verde. I remember um that's about as tough as it's been for them. And so Argentina are Argentina know all these things we're saying here that Spain are so great in possession and defensively and they can keep the ball and they can frustrate them. And Argentina's answer and we saw it in the first 20 or 30 or 45 minutes against England was okay, we'll kick you and then we'll see how you respond and then we will kick you again and we'll
see how you continue to respond until it breaks you. And I think that is one of the things that they've been able to do at this tournament is break teams to la outlast them last longer. Whether you know whether they've got a bunch of possession or whether they're kind of with their backs against the wall and they're they're fighting to just hang in there. Whatever the moment has required of them, they have been able to produce. And so I think they are going to present that a similar challenge to that to Spain in a way that we've not seen. And uh at this point we don't know how they're going to respond. We don't know what the answer will be. Yeah. All right. Here's another factor, Nick.
Obviously, Argentina have a days less rest than Spain. And Spain have kind of just breezed through the knockout rounds to get to this point pretty much. And Argentina have had to launch incredible comebacks, go to the well so many times and just when you thought the tank was empty, they found a way to do it. Is that, you know, going to be a factor or is it like it's the World Cup final, like just leave everything out there? I think it'll be a factor, but I also think if you do expect Spain to keep the ball and that you're going to just try and keep them from those areas that maybe you're saving your sprints and Lo Messi is always saving his sprints at 39 years old. Um I don't know. I will the
rest thing matter. It may late, but it won't obviously won't. And that's where I think we always talk about what's what's this game look like after 30 minutes. It goes It's a great point. Do Argentina start this game like they finished the last game to kind of get momentum. Yeah. Not unlike um US Belgium, right? Hey, can you survive now? It didn't turn out to be De Bruyne and Lukaku, but can you survive the old guys for a half hour uh and still be in control of your game? I do think to throw an X factor out there. um personal pride it the stake doesn't stakes don't get any higher than a world cup but it as Mbappé goes out early and Kane goes out early I mean one game early are Lero Martinez
and Lamino Maul thinking about the Ballindor are they thinking about if I get this done I can be the best player in the world because I mean I might write about that today this is a wild tournament how we're going to look at it when it's over about these individual players yeah it's kind of like the master and the apprentice, right? I mean, lin at Barcelona is like the heir to Messi's long-term uh throne there. So, that's an incredible storyline around this final um to see almost like the passing of the top that's happened. You've seen the famous picture, guys, right, of Messi with Yal in the bathtub or whatever. Yeah, maybe they could recreate that. I don't know. Like one day.
Um but um Andy, prediction, what we doing? it. By the way, if Spain win this, we're gonna see that photo in reverse. Just be prepared for that. It's gonna be all over your timeline. Just be ready for that. Uh that said, uh I'm I'm not picking against history here. I'm I'm not doing that. I'm not root I like to be right. And so I'm not going to root against seeing Argentina and Messi do something that we'll probably never again see in our lifetimes. uh and the way that they've done it at this tournament, you know, they've they've certainly not been the best or most impressive team at this tournament. Uh but they have just found a way and somehow the defending world champions feel like the great
underdog story uh at this point of the World Cup. So I'll go one nil Argentina Messi farewell Nick. Wow, that's a real you've made a really good case. Here's the other thing. Kougarea, Rodri, Ruiz, it's not that the guys these guys can't scrap. They haven't been asked to. And I think that this is going to be a nasty little fight uh on a big stage. Man, Andy, you do this to me in a lot of these predictions. I'm gonna go Spain one nil. You could convince me 2-1 because Leno Messi is there, but I'm go I'm going to stick with Spain.
I'm going that it finishes 1-1 extra time. Argentina wins on penalty kicks. That's what I'm going with. Um I don't know, destiny or the rest of it. Sometimes you can analyze this game and think about every single individual battle, but sometimes this feels like something stronger is at work. And it does feel like that with Messi and Argentina at this tournament. Hopefully, yeah, hopefully we see him do the Dairo face again. Yeah, that was incredible. Uh, that's a good way to end it. Go out with a World Cup trophy in his hand as he does it. Um, so head over to Pro Soccer Talk on MCports.com. We have you covered all week. Be in New York for the World Cup
final. Spain against Argentina. Two incredible teams. The reigning European champions against the reigning South American champions. Messi's destiny. Laminia Mao trying to step up and be the hero for Spain as a teenager. So many great storylines. We'll have you covered. Nick and Andy, thanks so much for this preview, but for everything throughout the World Cup. Incredible job working at all these games. Thanks everyone for watching and we will speak to you all very soon. Thank you. Pro Soccer Talk. We have riders across games at a 2026 Men's World Cup and we're so excited to take you on this journey with us.
We'll bring you in-depth pieces of the major storylines from these big cities as the world arrives in the United States for the biggest tournament in the world. Plus, we will have analysis live from the stadiums covering the top teams and players at this tournament.
