Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Football fans will be in for a hearty football dinner when they watch the 2026 World Cup final between Argentina and Spain tomorrow, Sunday.
The Spanish national team is looking forward to the World Cup title for the second time in its history, while the tango dancers aim to win the title for the fourth time after the 1978, 1986 and 2022 editions.
There are many factors that could tip the balance in favor of the Spanish matador against the reigning champion, and Kooora reviews them as follows:
Defensive strength and iron gauntlet
Spain’s defense caught the attention of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after conceding one goal in 7 matches played in the tournament.
The Matadors opened their World Cup campaign with a goalless draw against Cape Verde before a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia and a clean sheet against Uruguay late in the group stage.
Spain beat Austria 3-0 in the round of 32, then beat Portugal on penalties before conceding a goal in a 2-1 quarter-final win over Belgium before beating France 2-0 in the semi-finals.
There is no doubt that credit for the Matador’s only one conceding is due to the excellence of the back line, in addition to the brilliance of goalkeeper Unai Simon, who kept a clean sheet for 650 consecutive minutes at the World Cup before conceding against Belgium.
Spanish constant and luminous numbers
SofaScore has revealed that the Spanish national team has five players who have gone the most matches without defeat in the history of the World Cups and Euros combined.
It revolves around the quintet of Aymeric Laporte, Mikel Oyarzabal, Fabian Ruiz, Lamine Yamal and Mikel Merino.
The most notable of them is Fabian Ruiz, who has played 49 matches without defeat for Spain.
Dani Olmo also has eight assists in major tournaments after Euro 2020, equaling Cesc Fabregas’ tally for Spain since 1980.
Amazing streak to avoid losses
The Spanish national team is armed with an amazing run of positive results, as they are unbeaten in their last 37 games in all competitions since the 0-0 loss to Colombia in March 2024.
SofaScore said that if Spain avoid defeat to Argentina, they will hold the record for the longest unbeaten run by a European team, currently tied with Italy at 37 matches.
Spain also became the first team in the history of World Cups to keep 6 clean sheets in one round of the tournament and have not conceded a single minute so far.
Better physical fitness
Spain is entering the finals of the World Cup with better physical preparation than the rival Argentina.
The Spanish matador did not have to go to extra time to decide his matches in the knockout stages.
While the reigning champions were forced to play 120 minutes against Cape Verde in the round of 32, they repeated the same scenario in the quarter-final against Switzerland, on top of their struggles against Egypt and England.
After playing France last Tuesday, Spain also had a day off, while Argentina faced England on Wednesday.
The Magic of Yamal and the Deadly Bites of Merino
.jpg)
There is no doubt that Lamine Yamal is one of trainer Luis de la Fuente’s most popular weapons that can tip the balance in the matador’s favor.
Although Yamal has moved away from scoring as he has been content to score one goal and assist another, he remains a defining element at any given moment.
De La Fuente also has plenty of trump cards on the bench under Mikel Merino.
Merino managed to decide two matches for El Matador at the crucial time after coming on as a substitute.
In the 1/8 final match against Portugal, Merino entered the field in the 85th minute, scoring the decisive winning goal in the 90th minute (90+1).
Mirno’s brilliance continued into the next match as he came on as a substitute against Belgium in the 86th minute and just two minutes later scored the winner for Spain.
