bookd.
England1 - 2Argentina
This game pretty much summed up both England and Argentina perfectly. Argentina played rather defensively for the most part and, one might add, very aggressively, while all England wanted was one goal, the first goal. And they even got that goal from Gordon, who was found with an absolutely delicious cross by Rogers. And then Tuchel made some baffling tweaks that just made the entire English team sit back in an extreme low block and defend for their lives for the next 40 minutes. England ended the game with six, yes, SIX defenders on the pitch. What this also causes is that if you happen to concede a goal or manage to hoof the ball out of your own penalty area, you have no attacking outlets remaining with Gordon, the only one in this English side who could exploit the Argentine defensive line with his speed, being taken off. Every single English player was behind the ball, and all Argentina had to do was pepper them with crosses and passes into the box to pin them back. The problem with this game plan is, and why it worked against Mexico and not against Argentina, is one man: Messi. You CANNOT go into that defensive of a structure without any intention of attacking with that absolute DEMON on the pitch. And once again, just like against Egypt, he stepped up, took the onus on himself in the last 20 minutes, and turned this game around pretty much single-handedly. He had able allies in Enzo and Lautaro, but pretty much 90% of everything went through Messi on the right flank, either beating his man on the outside and whipping a cross in or cutting in and playing those absolutely sublime one-twos to open up the English backline. And I can't lie, I enjoyed every minute of him running the clock back. One has to soak it in; he might only play one more game in Argentine colors. People may dislike this Argentine team, but watching Messi play at his absolute best is always a special, special thing to witness.
ArgentinaEngland1 - 2Argentina
Argentina
France0 - 2Spain
Spain dominated from the start, according to my gimmick i have to talk about the midfield again because i have every single game of Spain. They used the midfield they had in 2024 again, yayyyy!!! Took until quarter finals but they now use a good midfield again for two games in a row. I do of course like Pedri, but with Olmo and Rodri he doesn’t work. With this midfield they perfectly dealt with France their entire attack which often went through Olise down the middle. While the French wingers both were dealt with easily too, and also had a bad game. More or less completely nullifying the deadly French attack, especially Mbappé who couldn’t be reached. Digne with just an awful challenge that led to the penalty after generally a good tournament by him, definitely because he left Villa. Spain just deserved this one, they came out with a plan to beat France and they worked it out perfectly. They will be huge favorites to win the final. A great tournament by France nonetheless, obviously wouldve hoped for more but losing to Spain is not a shame. Not the greatest of fans of Deschamps as a manager but he has done an incredible job for 14 years now and deserves a nice retirement. Very excited about France being led by Zidane though. Fun stat, never has someone who won the Ballon d’Or before the world cup, gone on to win the world cup, lmao. Man of the match is Fabian Ruiz for me, the man was just everywhere and he makes this midfield work. I think he’s generally very underrated as well. Such a good player.
SpainFrance0 - 2SpainI feel so vindicated after saying throughout the tournament that if there was one team who could stop this French 'super attack', it is Spain. This Spanish side is so perfectly built to counter the exact kind of football the French like to play and have proven to be a thorn in their side for a few years now. The way they completely neutralized this French front 4 by just keeping, passing, and not allowing the French to have any time on the ball was an absolute joy to watch. This domination almost reminded me of the 2010 squad, not with as much 'aura', but just so incredibly professional. As much as I love Pedri, I do have to say that a midfield of Rodri, Fabian Ruiz, and Olmo just works so well. The thing with Pedri is that he often does a lot of the work that Rodri already does for the Spanish NT. This makes it difficult for him to have a consistent role in this team as it leads to DLF pushing him forward, which just is not his role. Fabian, on the other hand, has a completely different profile which complements Rodri and Olmo much better, and that was seen today as Spain's midfield 3 completely nullified Tchouameni and Rabiot. Olmo, also, has quietly had yet another excellent tournament for Spain while Rodri is back to bossing the midfield and dictating the entire tempo of the game like he never had that ACL injury. It also didn't help that France just allowed Spain to take so much control, and outside of a couple of long balls from deep and long shots, they barely managed to create anything of substance. It's almost as if they'd accepted their fate as soon as Porro scored the second and never once managed to threaten Simon (outside of that one brainfade moment). Special shoutout to Cubarsi who has had an unreal tournament at the heart of a Spanish defense that has been rock solid throughout. If Spain manages to win the entire thing, he, for me, would be a massive contender for not only YPOTT (which pretty much seems locked on at this point) but also POTT.
SpainFrance0 - 2Spain
Excellent game plan from Spain to neutralise the French attack! That Spanish midfield and defence were absolutely brilliant. France couldn't really get going from minute one, I've really criticised De La Fuente's team selection and tactics, however tonight he got it absolutely spot on. Unfortunately for the French, they couldn't do a lot to get through the Spaniards, on such a special day for them it must be hard to take too. All that promise from beforehand in the tournament led to nothing... It was quite obvious that if you attacked the weak links you can score against this French super team. Digne and Rabiot to be precise with their lack of mobility, they were very poor and Spain consistently attacked their left hand side, which crumbled with ease. France were forced to long ball, which is not their best feature, because of the terrific Spanish setup. This is a huge way to keep them out, nullifying the wingers and midfielders, isolating Mbappe, which to be honest I was shocked he didn't score out of nothing. Very poor from every French player today. MOTM for me was Rodri, he's been Spains best player so far. Absolute dictator (not Mbappe) in the team and looks back to his best after a struggle of form post-ACL injury. If Spain win the tournament then he has been a huge key to why. You could pick anyone from that Spain midfield or defence though, all absolutely flawless tonight. Congratulations Spain! England vs Argentina next for the 2nd spot in the final. Very nervous but I believe we can do it! 🦁🦁🦁
SpainFrance0 - 2Spain
the dictator has been sent to exile xx
SpainArgentina3 - 1Switzerland
“Dreams do come true”- Laporta
ArgentinaArgentina3 - 2Egypt
Immortal
Argentina
