r/2026worldcup

Watching Cubarsí during this World Cup was honestly so satisfying.

The biggest thing that stood out wasn't just the defending, it was how comfortable he looked in every situation. A 19-year-old centre-back playing 8 full games on the biggest stage and looking like he's been there for a decade.

• 8 starts, 720 minutes played
• 7 clean sheets
• Only 1 goal conceded while he was on the pitch
• 698 passes attempted
• 671 completed passes (96.1% accuracy which is mental)

And having defensive capabilities aside, he was stepping into midfield, breaking lines with his passing, and helping Spain escape pressure. His positioning was always a step ahead, and rarely needing last-second tackles because he read the danger before it happened.

Barcelona surely have their next defensive leader for the next decade, what more can you ask from a center back to do that Cubarsi can't ?

This is the World Cup final, at MetLife Stadium tomorrow, and the storyline writes itself. Messi and Yamal have actually met before, as a baby Yamal was in a photo shoot with Messi that went viral years later, and now here they are on opposite sides of a World Cup final. Wanted to break down how I actually see this going.

Spain beat and dominated France 2-0 in the semifinal as we saw and talked about. Argentina needed a proper escape act against England, and Messi was the guide that turned a qualy into chaos for the 3 lions. That's two very different routes to the final, Spain controlling and Argentina relying on individual brilliance under pressure which is the definition of Messi.

These two have met 14 times in history: 6 wins each, 2 draws. They've only met once at a World Cup before, 1966, which Argentina won 2-1. There's no edge here at all if we wanna talk about Head to Heads.

Tactically Spain's midfield trio is the motor that never stops, the source of power for La roja between Rodri who's showing that he's the leader again, Fabian who is popping out as the connection for every ball passing through and the mighty Olmo bro, HOW IS HE THAT GOOD IN NATIONAL TOURNAMENTS. Argentina counter with Scaloni's quick transition setup, Enzo/De Paul and Mac Allister controlling possession phases but built to explode the moment they win it back and talking specially about Paredes for that part (what a player), with Messi still pulling every string at 39 and Alvarez or Martinez finishing the moves.

Messi's semifinal performance was 2011 Wembley-esk, 2 assists, an 83% dribble success rate, completely controlling the tempo of a knockout game. Yamal's the one carrying Spain's creative spark on the right side but still under-whelming for the caliber of Yamal who's still not 100%. Whoever's team manages to neutralize the other's created chances without fouling their way into trouble probably wins this.

Spain's structure and possession control should let them dictate large parts of the game, but Argentina have shown all tournament they don't need control, they need moments, and Messi manufacturing those out of nothing is exactly what got them here. I think this is close enough that a single moment of magic decides it either way, this doesn't feel like a game either side wins comfortably.

Who's got it, Spain's suffocating control, or Argentina finding more moments of Messi magic to win it all ?

The second World Cup semi-final is here.
England and Argentina are just one win away from the final against Spain.

Who do you think will win and what's your score prediction?

I find it kind of boring that the four teams in the semi finals are the top four teams in the Fifa World Ranking table. It would have been refreshing to have an underdog in there. Instead it's just the same old, same old...