A month ago, when the World Cup started, Spain was among the favourites, although little was said about it. Most of the pre-tournament chatter is centered on France’s front line, Argentina defending their title, and whether this could be the last World Cup for Lionel Messi gold Cristiano Ronaldo.Spain is right with him. A pair of goalless draws against Cape Verde in the opener did nothing to change that narrative. Since then, however, this has been one of the tournament’s most tactical campaigns: topping Group H, a single goal conceded in all knockout rounds, and a 2-0 demolition of France in the semi-finals that leaves them one win away from a second World Cup title.
Beyond tiki-taka
For the better part of two decades, Spain has meant one thing: tiki-taka. Endless possession, short passing triangles, patience bordering on suffocation. It was the defining feature of the greatest generation this country has produced.This side plays differently. Luis de la Fuente did not abandon the old principles of control through the ball, but he cut the predictability that came with them. There is more verticality now, more aggression, more urgency to the pass.It’s not a new development so much as a return, and the numbers clearly show that. At the 2018 World Cup, where Spain went to penalties in the last 16, their share of progressive passes was 0.82 times the tournament average. In 2022, another round of 16 penalty exits, it had dropped even further, to 0.76. Then the turn: at Euro 2024, which Spain won, that figure reached 1.08 times the average of the field. Now, in this World Cup final, it stands at 1.09. Both outputs were below average. Both European champions and World Cup finalists sat above.Oliver Kahn, the former Germany goalkeeper and Zee5 pundit, thinks that change explains most of what happened this summer.“They have developed the tiki-taka more in the last 10 or 12 years. Luis de la Fuente has made some adaptations. They are playing more vertically and much more aggressively, with the two full-backs always attacking. This is a totally different Spain than it was 10 years ago.”Robbie Fowler, the former England striker and a fellow Zee5 expert, said this in a media session.“Everyone continues on the tiki-taka, and I don’t think this is the tiki-taka of Spain that we have seen in the past. They are still a team based on possession, but what I like is the possession in the right way, it is the possession in the right areas. There is a goal in how they play.”
Spain did not stop France. They annihilate them
France arrived in Dallas with arguably the most fearsome attack left in the competition. Kylian Mbappe led the race for the Golden Boot. Michael Olise had been one of the strongest creators of the tournament. Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola have repeatedly cut open teams in transition all summer.Spain has removed each of these threats.The scoreline against France told part of the story. It doesn’t even come close to capturing how one sided the game actually was. No semi-finalist had been reduced to less than France was that night by Sweden, eight World Cups ago. France’s expected goals per game averaged 2.4 throughout the tournament; against Spain it fell to 0.31, its lowest figure of the summer. Spain allowed them 0.6 xG and generated 1.7 of their own, in a night that was built more around the control of random creation.France’s entire approach throughout the tournament had been based on winning the ball back and going vertical straight away, exploiting the space behind defenses with raw pace. So Spain just refused to let that happen. The counter-press came instantly. By the time France gained possession, Rodri, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Olmo were already closing down the passing lanes before Les Bleus could pick up any speed. Mbappe spent most of the evening chasing long balls that never came. Dembele was cut from the game. Olise, usually France’s creative pulse, had his quietest night of the tournament. Mbappe did not register a single shot on target throughout the match. France managed 10 attempts in total, despite 152 touches in the attacking third.
A defense that went under the radar
Spain’s attacking play tends to grab the headlines. The back four deserve just as much attention, maybe more.Petru Porro, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte and Marc Cucurella have become, without a doubt, one of the strongest defensive units of the tournament. In the knockout stages, Spain conceded a combined 1.59 expected goals, which is a remarkable number for a team that went so deep.Against France specifically, Porro, Rodri, Laporte, Cubarsi and Ruiz won 25 of 34 individual duels and made 44 defensive actions between them. And they didn’t break the mold to do it.But perhaps the biggest reason for Spain’s success is the one that few people talk about: Rodri.He has returned from a difficult season at the club, a form since the serious knee injury he suffered in September 2024, and has found something close to his best form exactly when his country needed it. Against France, the attacks kept running into him, whether he was intercepting a pass, clearing possession, or simply slowing down the game when Spain needed a breather.The numbers support it. Rodri has completed 655 passes in this World Cup, more than any player has managed in a single edition since records began in 1966. It is not just a possession stat; says something about how much of the pace of Spain goes through a man.Kahn frames it as a system built to work because the individuals within it are exceptional.“They have a perfect system, but you still need exceptional guys like Rodri and Lamine.”Alongside Fabian Ruiz and Dani Olmo, Rodri simply outplayed Adrien Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni in midfield, and France never found a way back in that battle.Even when Didier Deschamps launched Desire Doue, Manu Kone and Rayan Cherki looking for a way back into the game, Spain just adjusted their pressing boxes and remained compact. Every substitution that France has made receives a corresponding tactical response from the Spanish bench.
Lamine Yamal, plays a different game for his country
On paper, Yamal’s tournament was quiet. Five games, one goal, no assists, a far cry from the 24 goals and 17 assists he has racked up for Barcelona this season.The numbers don’t tell you much, though.His solo run forced Lucas Digne into the foul that gave Spain their penalty and the lead against France. Throughout the tournament, he stretched defenses, drove the ball into deep areas, and put opponents on the back foot just by being on the field.Kahn thinks his role with Spain is simply different to the one he plays at club level.“Lamine was back from an eight-week injury. He plays a little differently than at Barcelona. He has a lot more freedom. Genius players like him and Messi need that freedom.”“In the Spain team, he has to fit into the system. He has to play more for the team, not so much for himself.”Even so, Kahn believes that the teenager is built exactly for this type of scene.“He’s only 19 years old. He has to earn that freedom. Now he has the opportunity to show in the final what a great player he is. I had enormous respect for a 19-year-old playing in a World Cup final.”
Collective knowledge over individual moments
What stands out the most, perhaps, is that Spain no longer needs a player to produce magic. Everyone on the pitch seems to know when to press, when to get fit, when to get forward.Fowler sees it as possession with a purpose behind it, rather than possession as an end in itself.“They still play possession-based football, but I think it’s more direct. They can break the press with a simple pass to Rodri or Olmo, and from a transition point of view they are very, very fast.”That balance between control and direction has made them one of the toughest teams in the world to really play against.
The ultimate challenge: Stopping Messi
On the way to a second title are the defending champions, Argentina, led by Messi, who at 39 is somehow playing better than in 2022. His expected goal rate has doubled, from 0.26 per 90 minutes four years ago to 0.52 now, and his shooting volume and third down reception are up to par. Where Spain have built a system that no longer depends on a single player producing a moment of magic, Argentina’s path through this tournament has leaned much more heavily on what one man can still do.For Fowler, stopping them starts with limiting what the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner can do on the ball.“You need to have players ready to put in hard yards, ready to block tackles, block channels, run with runners and not allow Messi to get on the ball.”Spain have already shown this tournament that they can strip elite attacking talent of their influence. They closed Belgium. They reduced France’s front line to almost nothing. Now he faces arguably the toughest job in football: stopping Messi from making a run at the World Cup final.Kahn sees a story within history here.“The difference is one is 19, the other is 40. Both come from Barcelona. Both come from La Masia. The young man plays against his model. It’s a great story.”Messi chasing back-to-back titles, a final defining moment in a career that already has many. Yamal, the teenager designed to be the next big sport, going into his first World Cup final. It’s hard to write anything better.Spain have not lost in 37 consecutive internationals, matching Italy’s world record from 2018 to 2021, and go into the final after climbing to No. 1 in the FIFA ranking. There aren’t as many household names in this team as there were in 2010. Judged on performance rather than reputation, it might not be necessary. This may be the most complete Spain team in over a decade.Argentina and Messi stand between them and a second star on the shirt.