Spain and Argentina advanced to the World Cup finals in dramatic fashion!
Updated Jul 16, 2026, 2:00 PM UTC
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In what is likely the strongest semifinals we have ever seen in the World Cup, there was huge potential for two thrilling matches. However, sometimes teams with such advanced tactics and brilliant players, doesn’t always lead to the beautiful game. While we didn’t see a goalfest such as in previous rounds, there was some masterclass performances that saw Spain and England advance to the World Cup finals.
Winners
Spanish defense
The Spaniards have been on a historic defensive run. Spain have now advanced to the World Cup finals after just conceding a single goal all tournament. While they had an easy group stage set of opponents, they have had to play Austria, Portugal, Belgium, and most recently, France, on their route to the finals. While France were seen as the heavy favorites in this tournament, it is time Spain got their respect.
Messi fans
Lionel Messi has been out of this world this tournament. He has excelled in nearly every relevant metric to a player in his position and has not shown any signs of slowing down, despite his age. However, Argentina have been miraculously lucky to make it this far in the tournament, based on their performances. They have scraped by against weak sides but always seem to find a way. Lionel Messi and Argentina found their magic once again in this one.
Losers
The French attack
Hailed as the world’s best attack and for good reason. Michael Olisé, Ousmane Dembele, and Kylian Mbappe is a strong enough front three to send shivers down the spine of any backline in history. However, what we saw on Tuesday was massively uncharacteristic for the trio. The attack simply couldn’t break down Spain and they failed to generate any significant chances over the 90 minutes.
Lucas Digne
The French left-back had a downright horrible game. A miscue resulting in him kicking Lamine Yamal which gave Spain the opening goal — a game winning penalty kick. It didn’t get any easier for the Frenchman as he quite simply did not have the pace to defend the left flank, having a bad showing in all aspects of the game. Theo Hernandez will be fuming he didn’t start this game over the Aston Villa defender.
England fans
England fans have been waiting a long time to see their team lift a major trophy. 60 years to be exact. Meaning majority of fans you see watching the games at the stadium or online, have never seen their country triumph at a major tournament. Sad to think, but whatever you say about England and their fans, they deserve to lift a trophy at some point.
Thomas Tuchel
Hindsight is always 20-20. It is always easy to look back and clearly see where you went wrong, but Tuchel’s substitutions were just not the right decision. Against a side that has come back late in virtually ever knockout match, you can’t make such negative subs so early. If England had fended off the Argentinian attack, he would have been hailed as a hero — Argentina seems to be inevitable. England should not have taken the foot off the gas in this one.
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