EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Goals are expected in the World Cup finals. At least, that’s what history tells us.
In the past 22 men’s World Cup finals (including the 1950 match between Uruguay and Brazil, which was not technically a final but decided the World Cup winner), the winning team has averaged 2.6 goals per title match. The average number of goals scored by losing teams is 1.1.
The last two World Cup finals were a series of aggressive attacks, scoring a total of 12 goals. In 2018, France defeated Croatia 4-2, and in 2022, Argentina and France drew 3-3 (until Argentina won on penalties).
Teams that scored at least two goals have won the World Cup title 17 times. There have been eight instances in which a team has scored at least two goals in the final but still fell short.
There have been three 1-0 wins: West Germany beat Argentina in 1990, Spain beat the Netherlands in 2010, and Germany beat Argentina in 2014. There was one match in the final that ended in a 0-0 draw. In the 1994 final, Brazil defeated Italy in a penalty shootout, making it the only final ever played on U.S. soil.
Scaloni aims to join elite club
If Argentina wins on Sunday, Lionel Scaloni, who led the team to the 2022 title, will become the second person to manage two World Cup-winning clubs.
Italy won back-to-back World Cups in 1934 and 1938, both clubs coached by Vittorio Pozzo.
No other person has two titles as a director. Brazil’s Mario Zagallo, West Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer and France’s Didier Deschamps are the only players to win the World Cup as both players and coaches.
messi is important
When Argentina star Lionel Messi takes the field on Sunday, he will become the oldest field player to appear in a World Cup final.
Messi is 39 years old. Gunnar Gren of Sweden was 37 years old when he played against Brazil in the 1958 final.
The only player older than Messi in the final was Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff. He was 40 years old when the club won the championship over West Germany in 1982. But after Sunday, Messi will be the single oldest player on the field.
Messi also stands to join Brazil’s Cafu as the only players to have appeared in three World Cup men’s finals. And since Cafu was a substitute in one of his appearances, Messi will start in the first of the three title games.
In the case of Spain, young people may be served. You may have some experience.
There is a possibility that the youth team will represent Spain in this World Cup final. And experience would have paid off if La Roja won.
It’s an interesting mix.
Spain is scheduled to field two 19-year-old teenagers, Lamine Yamal and Pau Kvarsi, against Argentina in the World Cup final on Sunday, but no team has ever won a title with players older than teenagers in their lineup.
In other words, that is the power of youth.
This is the flip side. If Spain wins, Luis de la Fuente, 65, will become the oldest World Cup-winning sideline manager, passing Vicente del Bosque, who was 59 when Spain won its first title in 2010.
Incidentally, FIFA says that while the teenagers enter Sunday undefeated in World Cup finals, only three have ever played in soccer’s biggest match. Pele was 17 when he helped Brazil win the final against Sweden in 1958, Giuseppe Bergomi was 18 when Italy beat West Germany in 1982 and Kylian Mbappe was 19 when France beat Croatia in 2018.
Spain aims for record winning streak
Spain are 28-0-9 in their last 37 games, tied with Italy for the unbeaten record by a European men’s national team.
Italy also played with 28 wins, 0 losses, and 9 losses from October 2018 to September 2021, but lost to Spain 2-1 in Milan on October 6, 2021.
Argentina has also achieved remarkable results. They have won seven consecutive World Cup matches, tied with Italy for the second-longest record in the history of the men’s tournament. The only team with a longer World Cup winning streak is Brazil, who won 11 consecutive games from 2002 to 2006.
History of Argentina and Spain
This match is only the second head-to-head match between Argentina and Spain in the World Cup. Argentina won 2-1 in the 1966 group stage.
The two teams have met 14 times across all competitions and friendlies. Both sides won six times and drew twice.
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