{"id":1470124,"date":"2026-07-20T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?post_type=features&p=1470124"},"modified":"2026-07-20T02:32:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T01:32:59","slug":"tactical-analysis-spain-argentina-2026-world-cup-final","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-spain-argentina-2026-world-cup-final\/","title":{"rendered":"Tactical analysis: How Spain gave Argentina a taste of their own medicine to win 2026 World Cup final"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Spain used one of Argentina’s main weapons throughout the knockout stages to beat them in extra time.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

La Roja were the far better side from the start, but needed over 100 minutes and a one-man advantage to finally break the deadlock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Substitutes Nico Williams and Ferran Torres combined early on in the second half of extra time. The Barcelona forward fired the only shot of the game that Dibu Martinez couldn’t keep away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it was precisely a weapon that the Albiceleste used to traumatise opponents in their knockout stage heroics that led to their demise at the hands of Spain. And one that La Roja themselves had seemingly gone away from as the tournament went on.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    How did Spain use Argentina’s secret weapon against them?<\/h2><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Argentina stood out in the 2026 World Cup by focusing their attacking actions in the central corridor, an increasingly rare sight in modern football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In fact, they finished the tournament with the highest percentage of attacks down the middle (33%).<\/p>\n\n\n

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    Argentina’s passing network chart in the 2026 World Cup<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Which also goes to show how much Spain were able to take them away from their preferred actions. In the final, the Albiceleste recorded just 27% of their attacks down the middle, their outright lowest in a single game and the only time they finished below 30% in this regard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Whenever they recovered possession, all of Spain’s centre midfielders and centre-backs were pressing them to regain it straight back. It forced them wide and Luis de la Fuente smartly trapped them until they lost the ball to restart their sequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the end of the game, of course, they positioned Lionel Messi out wide in hopes of getting the same outcome from the comeback against England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But an underrated part of Argentina’s campaign is how they used set pieces and crosses overall to their advantage, despite a lack of height and physicality throughout the squad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n