00:00Marcelino, what would another World Cup mean for Lionel Messi?
00:08This is the moment of truth for him to really settle the debate
00:12and put himself above everyone else.
00:14If Messi achieves this feat of repeating back-to-back finals he already did
00:20while winning both titles, you know, many of these players have said
00:23if we win, we will retire because really you get to this point
00:26where what else can you do?
00:28After repeating World Cup, that means that you have been probably
00:31the best team in the world for six years.
00:34That's a crazy long span for any team.
00:37Teams peak and reach their maximum level in a space of three, four years,
00:41and that's about it.
00:42That's why you see this churn of coaches after three, four years.
00:46They win.
00:46We see it from Liga MX that America won three times in a row
00:50and their coaches out, and we started a rebuild.
00:53We see it now with Manchester City, with, you know, also changing a legendary coach,
01:00Pep Guardiola, and moving forward.
01:02And we see that Scaloni has built a team that is taking advantage of everything
01:08Lionel Messi has left in the tank, and it's a lot, my friends.
01:11I was, you know, if you watch Latin Asian Football Club here every Friday,
01:15say, you know that I'm a loud critic of Lionel Messi and how we in MLS
01:20and American football, we need to hold him to a higher standard
01:24because that's what he was brought to MLS to do,
01:27bring the level of American football much higher than it is.
01:30But what he's done and accomplished as a 39-year-old player, it's amazing.
01:36I think that it has proven that this player has a different type of mentality,
01:40that he has infused in this Argentina this belief that no matter that you have
01:4410 minutes left and you're down one or two goals,
01:46the team can switch it on and turn it around.
01:50So I feel like Lionel Messi has everything in his favor,
01:54but in front of them, they have probably the most organized,
01:58the most patient team in the competition.
02:01Spain has proven that with the midfielder that we're just speaking about,
02:05Manchester City, with Rodri at the helm controlling,
02:08orchestrating more than controlling the back line and the midfield of Spain,
02:14I think that they're going to have a hard time retaining possession.
02:17But to be honest, Argentina has learned how to suffer and win throughout these games.
02:21Spain has been growing slowly and quietly to become a powerhouse.
02:26They really, really disarm France.
02:29I think that that's the proof in the pudding that Spain are the favorites to win this game.
02:34Tactically, technically, I feel like they're a little bit better.
02:37I feel like the team is a little bit better also in fitness.
02:40But the reality is that Argentina, you cannot discount them.
02:43So as an analyst, I'm going to say that Spain, as a fan, I'm going to say that Argentina,
02:49because that type of lock and that type of momentum is hard to beat.
02:54Now, I cannot say all of this without referring to the checker role that they enjoy coming to the final,
03:03right?
03:03It was probably the easiest path in the group stage, the easiest path in the bracket.
03:07There has been a lot of controversial calls going their way,
03:10a lot of controversial calls not hurting them as they should.
03:14From the very first game, the controversy with Messi's red card,
03:18that could have changed completely because I immediately put him out to games.
03:23A lot of instances where, you know, the game against Egypt, the game against Cabo Verde,
03:29a lot of instances where the reality is that it could make you doubt of the fairness of the officiating
03:36throughout the World Cup.
03:37Now, to accuse the organization of a conspiracy to make Lionel Messi win,
03:43we can be here and do a whole special about that.
03:46But the reality is that when you see the team in the field, you cannot deny those 10 minutes, right?
03:52Egypt had it.
03:53They could have scored another goal.
03:54They decided to back and park the balls, and Argentina took advantage of that.
03:59The same with England.
04:01England parked the balls too soon.
04:0230 minutes of giving Argentina the ball and the attacking hand up.
04:08I think that was a mistake.
04:10So, although there's all of that, I also believe that Argentina has learned how to win these games,
04:15and that makes them very, very dangerous.
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