00:00Former national coach and captain Angus Eve was impressed with the overall performance
00:04of Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup which saw them winning every match after a go-less opening
00:09draw with Cape Verde. Eve praised coach Luis de la Fuente for the manner in which he led a well
00:15-oiled
00:15Spanish machine. They were very consistent with the team selection, consistent with their tactics
00:24and their belief in what they were doing as a group and I thought that they deserved to win at
00:32the end.
00:33Besides France, who played really well in the early parts, I thought that Spain was by head and
00:39shoulders the best team at the tournament and deserved to win. The Spaniards beat Argentina
00:451-0 in the final in the United States with a solitary item coming in the 106th minute,
00:50through Ferran Torres. According to Eve, the opening draw woke them up somewhat for the rest of the
00:55World Cup. I think they were caught a little bit unawares in the first game and people sort of,
01:03you know, write them off but credit to the African team who gave them a really good scare at the
01:07beginning and I think that that was the impetus for them to go back and believe in what they've
01:14been doing throughout and not take things for granted and they recovered and they
01:20rebounded from that match and I thought, again, you know, just deserving that they win the tournament.
01:27The former national player was more than satisfied with the way the tournament was organized
01:32which saw an increase from 32 to 48 teams this year. And what about the standard of the football?
01:39On the field of play, I thought that the football was of a very high standard throughout. I think the
01:45final definitely was a disappointment for everybody. The third place game is what the real fans want
01:51to see. I thought that we had a lot of good performances from a lot of good individual players,
01:56a lot of good team spirit. The gap is narrowing. The African teams, the CONCACAF teams and all,
02:06they show credibility in what they did in the tournament.
02:10But not everything was hunky-dory at the World Cup. Like many, Yves also felt some games had their
02:17controversial moments, which makes one wonder if too much technology is spoiling the game.
02:22I definitely think that we have to look a bit more at the VAR. You know, I think it's too
02:30much
02:30involved in the game. I think it definitely spoiled the game. Egypt and Argentina just for one instance,
02:39but there were other instances. Because once it goes to VAR, it takes away from the aura of the game.
02:46They wait about five minutes in certain instances. Five minutes is a long time in a game. Three
02:51minutes is a long time in a match to wait for a decision. A team went and celebrated and all
02:57this
02:57kind of thing. So I think we had to look at the VAR. The World Cup lasted 39 days, with
03:02only time being
03:03able to tell if it's going to increase. That's because talks are in progress to have 64 teams in 2030.
03:11When it would now and it is export.
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