Appearing on football’s biggest platform for perhaps the final time, Lionel Messi looked poised to deliver one last iconic moment in this tournament decider. But as the sun slipped below the west stand at New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday, it grew increasingly apparent that Argentina had lost the spark that had carried them […]
Continue ReadingSpain’s manager Luis de la Fuente has ruled out deploying a dedicated marker on Lionel Messi during the World Cup final, despite the Argentine captain’s staggering tally of eight goals and four assists in the tournament and a personal lesson that hints otherwise. Ahead of Sunday’s showpiece in New Jersey, De la Fuente recalled his […]
Continue ReadingDuring the 37-minute stretch where England first seized the lead against Argentina and then surrendered it, they managed to hold the ball for just 12 percent of the time. It’s safe to say the World Cup final will present an entirely different kind of test against Spain. The Spanish don’t share that deep-seated English impulse […]
Continue ReadingTo strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. That sentiment didn’t apply to this group, at least. Amid relentless, rolling noise inside Atlanta’s massive climate-controlled dome, England reached the end of the journey, the limits of their ability at this World Cup, the exhaustion of every mechanism within the side. Above all, they […]
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