The grand finale arrives.
On Sunday we will know who will inherit the world champion crown after having played seven games in the last month.
Either for having arrived better physically, technically and mentally prepared;
because they have known how to plan the matches better depending on the rival, or even because they have had that something that many call luck to win the matches despite not being better or playing better, it is clear that the two finalists are the ones who have done the most merit in the tournament to achieve glory.
I am sure that Argentina was in the predictions and bets of reaching the final of many people.
Among many other things, because the country goes crazy with soccer and there are no more and no less than 46 million Argentines with the same feeling.
The Albiceleste was one of the calculations that we fans could do before the start of the tournament, based on previous results, the type of players and their state of form and looking at the groups.
They come from winning the Copa América against Brazil, having been runner-up in Brazil 2014. Enough arguments to believe in it.
As if all this were not enough, it comes together that this will be Messi's last World Cup.
It seems like he's been waiting for this moment his entire career.
As a defender, I can imagine what a torment it must be to face him.
Being such a complete player, and the fact that he reads the game so well, it becomes almost impossible to defend him.
All the defenders will have the instructions to mark him all the time or with surveillance, that he receive as far from the area as possible, that the defense have coverage, that they do not give him his left leg to shoot, not leave him space, etc.
Still, being able to read the game so well, and having the resources to execute everything perfectly, it's virtually impossible to stop him from creating plays that no one else can.
He is in a great state of form and to this we must add the good moment of the rest of the players who are even willing to disrespect anyone, in order to win the World Cup together with the D10S of football.
On the French side, the most feared is Mbappé, who despite not having the best tournament, is the biggest threat.
He is characterized by his speed,
dribbling
and shooting from him.
The Argentine defense will try to make a very sticky short mark to prevent him from receiving and facing, and will try not to leave space behind him and have all the time help to cut long balls that can filter him.
Leaving the protagonists aside, Morocco, which has been left at the gates of the final, has been, for me, the great surprise and revelation of the tournament.
Playing against Spain in the round of 16, I myself thought during the game that we would eliminate them.
But Bono had his own plan.
They have shown that they plan each game well, make the games very uncomfortable for the rival, and impose their high competitive rhythm to do damage, all based on the best defense in the championship.
They have their own game plan, and they stick to it perfectly.
I would like to point out other considerations.
Of course he was counting on Croatia to be fighting to the end.
A selection that is very clear that the team is above individualities, which combines with quality and criteria that Modric directs on top of that.
He doesn't lose a ball, he makes the passes to the leg he touches at the right moment, they make fouls on him and he doesn't complain, he wastes talent.
It is a team to which things can only go well.
Only the lack of defensive forcefulness kept them out of the final.
Even so, they gave the great surprise of eliminating Brazil, despite the good moment in which La Canarinha was.
The latter showed its powerful cards, with a squad full of great players hungry to win, but could not get past the quarterfinals.
It is the greatness of football.
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