00:00We now go with our special segment on the occasion of the World Cup.
00:03Beyond the game, the ball stays pure. Go ahead Luis, pleasure to share that with you.
00:08Pleasure to be back here with you Sofia and of course with our audience.
00:11We are roughly two hours away from the grand finale kicking off between Argentina and Spain.
00:16We expect it to be a very entertaining match, a very exciting high stakes match.
00:21We'll see what happens but we'll have more information after the break.
00:46Welcome to Beyond the Game, the ball stays pure. We are reporting before the break.
00:49We are just a couple of hours away from the grand finale to begin in this edition of the World
00:54Cup 2026
00:55that is taking place in New York, New Jersey Stadium between Spain and Argentina,
01:00the champion of the Euro Cup and the champion of Copa America, the finalisma.
01:06And for more details on this extraordinary match that is coming up in just a couple of hours,
01:10let's go live with our correspondent in Barcelona, Spain, Andrés Flores for more details on how this final is being
01:16experienced in Spain.
01:26Andrés, can you hear me? How is it being experienced the build up to the final?
01:43The final match, the final of the World Cup here in Barcelona, where several places are adapted to watch this
01:54final match.
01:56The places have been modified and today they have been moved to some other places where a huge screen is
02:10ready for people to watch the game.
02:13This is in accordance to the quantity of people that is expected to attend to the match.
02:24It is the afternoon here in Barcelona where we can see people holding the flag of the selection and they
02:33are ready to watch the game.
02:41There are a lot of players of the Barça that belong to the Spanish selection and people are ready to
02:52watch the game very enthusiastically.
02:58Approximately 50,000 Argentinians or more than that quantity are here in this specific place at Barcelona, very close to
03:16the walk of this place.
03:24Unfortunately, they are behaving peacefully, very quiet.
03:32And they are surrounding all this city. This is the party of the World Cup.
03:40And Spain will give it all to Canada, South Africa.
03:46Many people have come here.
03:53This is a place that attracts plenty of people because it's a famous zone because Jamal was born here.
04:08We will keep you updated regarding everything that happens with the final game of this World Cup.
04:15Thank you, Andres, for the detailed information as the Spanish people are there and also Argentinian fans, as you were
04:21referring, in Barcelona experiencing the build-up.
04:23And we will later watch the game that starts at 3 p.m. Caracas time.
04:27Let's now see a brief package on how Spain arrived to this final game, its second ever.
04:37Spain announced themselves as one of the tournament favorites by dominating Group H.
04:41La Roja overwhelmed Saudi Arabia in a commanding opening victory before proving their resilience in a hard-fought draw with
04:48Cape Verde.
04:49They closed the group stage with another emphatic performance against Uruguay to finish first, showcasing the possession-based football and
04:56defensive discipline that have become trademarks under Luis de la Fuente.
05:00Spain has steadily raised its level with every knockout match.
05:04Austria offered little resistance in a comfortable 3-0 round of 32 victory before Portugal pushed La Roja to their
05:11limit in a 10-Siberian derby that Spain edged 1-0.
05:14The biggest test came in the quarter-finals, where Spain overcame Belgium 2-1 in a high-quality contest to
05:20book another World Cup semi-final, extending an impressive run that has seen them concede just once in the knockout
05:27rounds.
05:28Spain defeated France 2-0 in a composed and commanding semi-final match.
05:33After an evenly contested opening, Lamin-Yamal drew the fall that led to a penalty in the 20th minute, and
05:39Mikel Oyarzaval calmly converted from the spot.
05:42La Roja took control from there, dominating possession and frustrating a French side that struggled to create clear chances.
05:49Pedro Porro sealed the victory in the 58th minute, with a clinical finish following a sleek combination with Dani Olmo.
05:56Spain's disciplined defense and patient build-up secured a deserved place in the final.
06:05This Sunday, as we have been reporting, the 26th Freeway World Cup comes to its thrilling conclusion as Spain and
06:10Argentina face off at New York Stadium to crown the new world champions.
06:15Both teams have delivered outstanding performances throughout the tournament.
06:19Spain has stood out for its disciplined defense and tactical control, putting together an impressive campaign with six wins, one
06:27draw and just a single goal conceded in the entire competition.
06:31Argentina, meanwhile, heads into the final with a perfect record of seven wins and no defeats, although Lionel Scaloni's side
06:38was tested throughout the knockout stage.
06:40Albi Celeste is the tournament's highest scoring team with 17 goals, powered by the attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Julian
06:46Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez.
06:48If Argentina leaves the trophy, it will claim a fourth World Cup title and successfully defend the crown won in
06:54Qatar in 2022 during the exclusive club of nations to win back-to-back World Cups alongside Italy and Brazil.
07:00In addition, Argentina would move into a tie with Germany and Italy for the second most World Cup titles in
07:06history, trailing only Brazil's record five championships.
07:10Spain, on the other hand, is aiming to capture its second FIFA World Cup title after its triumph in South
07:15Africa in 2010.
07:16A victory will see La Roja join France and Uruguay as two World Champions.
07:30Let's continue our contact with our colleagues on the ground.
07:32On this occasion, we're going to Mexico City, one of the host nations in Mexico, with our colleague Carlos Montero
07:38for all the details on how this game, this grand finale is building up towards...
07:42We're just a couple of hours away, as we were saying, between Spain and Argentina.
07:47Welcome Carlos to be on the game.
07:50Hi Luis, how are you from Mexico City?
07:53The first match of this World Cup of the 104 matches, it was played here behind me in the Azteca
08:00Stadium, Mexican City Stadium, depends how you want to call it.
08:06The President of Mexico, Claudia Sherman, didn't want to be in the stadium when the first...
08:12The first match, she said, I'd rather be with people of low incomes, watching the match with them, because I
08:19want to be with people.
08:20I don't want to be with people who have too much money to pay the ticket.
08:24But for the last match, she's already in New York.
08:28Yesterday, Donald Trump invited her and invited the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney.
08:35And she said, yeah, I want to go. If President Trump invites me, I have to go.
08:39She has some problems because the weather was so full yesterday in New York.
08:45The world canceled all the flights.
08:47So she was planning to fly in a commercial flight.
08:49She said, I cannot do that.
08:51So she used a flight from her government.
08:54And now she's in New York and she must be trying to, right now, to go to the stadium to
09:01see that fantastic final between the best team in America,
09:06based on what they won in the last tournament, and the best team in Europe.
09:11It's going to be a fantastic game.
09:12Argentina against Spain.
09:14We are very nervous, Argentine people.
09:17We want to see that there is the last match of Leo Messi, who has been proven in this World
09:22Cup.
09:22That age is only a number, 39.
09:25He's been playing as good, scoring more goals than Lamin Jamal.
09:29You see him in a UNICEF propaganda, a commercial, with Messi being 18, Jamal a baby holding him.
09:37So the two of them are going to face today in the final.
09:40And we can't wait to see that match.
09:43That's going to be something fantastic for people like you, like me, who love food.
09:48Going back to you, Luis.
09:51For the contact, we'll stay tuned for the upcoming segment in the next news brief to know more about this
09:56game,
09:56that it will be starting in just a couple of hours.
09:59But for now, we have come to the end of this edition of Beyond the Game.
10:02The boss is pure.
10:03Stay tuned with Teresor English and our social media to stay up to date on everything building up towards the
10:07grand finale of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
10:09We go back to you, Sophie.
10:12Thank you, Luis, for keeping us posted on all the updates related to the world of football.
10:15And with this special segment, we have come to the end of this news brief.
10:19Remember, you can find this and many other stories and new apps out at telosurenglish.net.
10:23And join us on social media.
10:24We're on Facebook, X, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok.
10:27For Telosur English, I'm Sophie Fernández.
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