W HAT an anti-climax! Spain’s football team deserves every accolade under the Sun for the well-organised, collective excellence it produced. But what had actually happened to the great team of Argentina at that most crucial moment will always remain a surprise. There was no doubt, of course, that what was in evidence was soccer at its best. Yet, there was certain one-sidedness in play -- in favour of Spain. The Argentines did produce good football throughout the game, all right. Yet, what seemed missing was their signature spark that produced scintillating football in every match up to the final encounter that saw them hang their heads in frustration and walk out after a 1-0 defeat. What will ever remain a surprise for the world was the somber performance of King Lionel Messi who seemed unable to produce the leadership chutzpah that is so essential at that awesome level of human excellence.

 

From that angle, the final match between Rodri’s Spain and Messi’s Argentina was sort of an anti-climax -- which the fans did not miss enjoying, but also did not stop feeling surprised about. The Spanish team was too well-organised in both, strategy and tactics. The Argentine team was almost equally good, but somehow seemed to lack its usual spark. Despite that, Messi’s men held Rodri’s men at bay in regulation time. The first half was rather haphazard from footballing point of view. In the later half, Spain started a serious bid to gain dominance -- possibly having noted Argentine weaknesses or soft-spots. The result was clear: the Argentine players -- including the iconic Lionel Messi -- felt rather chastened. Thanks to the tight web of Spanish matadorian moves, the Argentine players could not actually blossom to display their individual excellence to begin with.

 

Of course, the Spanish team did not betray its declared approach of not wasting its energies on man-to-man marking beyond a limit. Yet, its moves were very tightly knit, and closely monitored by the master-strategist Captain Rodri whose on-field calm is by now a matter of football lore. Despite this superiority, the Spaniards were not able to crack through the Argentine defence for full match-time, before Ferran Torres produced that footballing brilliance to score the only goal in the match in extra-time (at the 106th minute). When the goal came, the Argentines felt terribly stupid about themselves. Askance as they were, they tried to rally back into the game in the later part of extra-time, but seemed to be rather clueless about the way to pierce through the Spanish attacking defensiveness. In his long and illustrious career, Lionel Messi must not have felt so hapless as he seemed to feel in the final match. His usual and habitual brilliance appeared to have deserted him -- in a way.

 

The Spanish team, in contrast, seemed to know in advance how the match would proceed from start. It followed its strategic line, altered some tactics on the field to accommodate some of Argentine responses. But all along, it seemed in better control of its resources than did the Argentine team. From the sidelines, Argentine coach Scaloni realised that the glory he and the team had won over time was slipping from their hands. No matter all this, it would be fair to insist that the Argentine team was almost as good as its Spanish rivals. The fans across national loyalties did feel that Messi’s men also deserved to win. They realise, though, that on a given day, even the greatest of teams may falter or fall a micron short of the desired levels of excellence. It was not easy for anybody -- yes anybody -- to see the teary-eyed Lionel Messi walk out of the arena, possibly for the last time on World Cup stage. FIFA World Cup 2026 was, beyond doubt, a great event -- peppered by talks of political interference and some doubts about the integrity of the system. No matter that, the 40-day event would remain etched in public memory for long.