Spanish Eyes

Madonna was on stage for the half-time show; so it was fitting that her hit 'Spanish Eyes' were smiling at the end of this 2026 World Cup final. It was not a great final to be honest; the first half was still decent; but the second half was about as laborious as it could get; bringing to mind memories of the 1990 World Cup Final between West Germany & Argentina that was just about the worst game of football you could see.

Just like that day, Argentina chose to play defensive and try to ride it out to penalties; banking on the fact their goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is certainly better at saving penalties than his opposite number Unai Simon. In the end, Spain's perseverance paid off; as Nico Williams' brilliant cut-back header was swept home by fellow substitute Ferran Torres.

For Argentina; their dream run of 4 consecutive miracle escapes finally came to an end. Their luck finally ran out in the end. For 117 minutes; they did not muster a single shot at goal; with only Guiliano Simeone's effort right at the end just about their only meaningful target at goal. I personally thought they should have gone toe-to-toe with Spain; but I guess coach Lionel Scaloni had other ideas.