Spain and Argentina have booked their date with destiny; now it is all about who will come out on top. Going into this game, Spain will be hailed as the favorites and an ex-USMNT pro thinks Argentina is not at their level. But the one thing we have learnt from this World Cup is that you can never rule out Argentina.

“I think Argentina are a worse version of Spain,” said Mike Grella, former USMNT junior international talking about the upcoming FIFA World Cup final on Sunday. “I think they do a lot of similar things. I think Spain are better than them, most polished than them. I think they are going to have a lot of the ball.”

However, Grella also described Argentina’s mentality, saying, “But Argentina… they’re dogs, they are animals in an alley. They don’t care; they wanna win at all costs.”

Spain and Argentina are now just one win away from lifting soccer’s biggest prize after outlasting 46 other countries and having completely different journeys. Spain have looked like one of the most complete teams in the World Cup, while Argentina has once again found answers to questions that many thought were going to be their last. 

At first glance, these two teams look surprisingly similar whenever they step onto the pitch.  

Both teams start pressing immediately after losing possession and move the ball, trying to create chances and not just spam crosses into the box or try very risky passes. They have technical players like Rodri and Enzo Fernandez who can run the game. 

But the similarities begin fading once the team reaches the final third. Spain trust their system to create chances, while Argentina still trust Lionel Messi when tough questions are being asked. 

That difference could decide how Sunday’s final unfolds from the opening whistle until the very last minute. Spain will want to defend with the ball by having long spells of possession because very few teams can get the ball off Spain.  

Against France, they controlled the midfield in the whole game and sealed a comfortable 2-0 win with disciplined tactics. Argentina will happily slow everything down and make the game scrappy before breaking quickly whenever Messi spots his runners attacking dangerous spaces. 

Spain come into this game with confidence because every player on their team has contributed to this World Cup run.  

They have conceded only 1 goal in the entire World Cup and are now in the final with the whole team stepping up on the field and taking control. But it has been very different for Argentina. If we don’t consider the last 2 games, it has been all Messi for the South American giants. 

But in the last 2 games, it looks like players like Lautaro Martínez, Enzo Fernández, and Julián Álvarez are peaking at the right time. The England semifinal is a very good example of that, with Enzo and Lautaro getting on the score sheet. 

And that is exactly why Spain enter Sunday’s final as the favorites. Their football has looked cleaner throughout the World Cup, even when they have not looked at their best and even when Lamine Yamal hasn’t had much to do. But soccer never follows the script, and we have seen that. Because if it did, France and England should have been in the final. 

And we have seen Argentina tear apart the script for teams like Cape Verde, Egypt, Switzerland, and England. With Messi still changing matches at 39, writing Argentina off before kickoff could become a costly mistake.