Cavalary: What a one-sided affair that was.
I was expecting Spain's defense and passing to hold Argentina at arm's length
I believe that was exactly what happened.
Cavalary: I mean, not a single shot until those final minutes of extra time, when they finally showed they can attack too? If Spain wouldn't have won this, it'd have been so wrong...
I see things differently with today's match.
If we look at the possession percentage, Spain had 2x more than Argentina in controlling the ball.
I sat and watched the replay through its entirely and whenever Argentina had the ball,
They would lose it in 20 seconds or less to Spain's players.
How can anyone shoot if they don't have the ball?
And that was Spain's strategy!
Messi dashing ahead each time when he had the ball.
But was met with 4 defenders crowding the goalpost immediately.
Argentina tried their best to hold onto the ball.
They just couldn't claw open Spain's ironclad defenses.
A quick visual comparison of Spain's positioning in the face of an attack versus Argentina's positioning
It is obvious that Spain has a much tighter defense whenever an Argentina shooter approaches the goal.
The Spain goalkeeper constantly came out from the post and kicked the ball away before the ball even reached penalty area.
It was a masterclass defense and a well-played strategy on Spain's part.
Why did Argentina lose?
Near the end, they lost a player due to 2 yellow cards (converts to a red).
They were already struggling to find a crack in Spain's defenses.
Now with a handicap, it's even more difficult to penetrate their Spain's chokehold.
With one player fewer than the other team, you can't fully guard all your opponents.
It is a massive advantage for the other team when one of them are free to roam without any checks.
Eventually, someone slips through Argentina's defenses and scores.
Then why was Argentina pushing more in the end?
It was down to 5 minutes and you're behind one goal.
At this point, you have nothing to lose but to risk it all.
So their defenders also become attackers and push forward.
Yes, this severely weakens their defense against more goals from Spain.
But they had no options:
Loosening your own defenses and improve your odds in scoring a goal to tie the game
Or lose either way.
This wasn't a strategy that could have been employed throughout all 90 minutes.
This was a Hail Mary, a last-ditch effort to go all in for a tiny sliver of hope in avoiding a loss.