By Fernando Kallas
NEW YORK, July 18 (Reuters) - Julen Lopetegui knows what it is to see Argentina picked apart by Spain's passing carousel, but the former Spain manager says Sunday's World Cup final will be no nostalgic rerun of a friendly thrashing in Madrid.
Lopetegui was in charge the last time Spain faced Argentina, a 6-1 win at the newly opened Metropolitano stadium in 2018, when Lionel Messi was absent and Spain produced the sort of midfield suffocation that can make opponents feel they are
chasing shadows.
"It's a wonderful memory because I think we played a brilliant match against a great team like Argentina," Lopetegui said.
"We managed to close down the spaces in midfield, press high up the pitch, and the team put in a good performance. But these are two completely different matches. We're talking about a World Cup final, not a friendly."
Spain arrive after a 2-0 semi-final win over France in which they reduced the tournament's most dangerous attack to a state of frustration and, until after the 80th minute, not a single shot on target.
France players suggested they should have pressed Spain higher and harder. Lopetegui, who coached Qatar at this World Cup and was part of Spain's squad as a goalkeeper in 1994, said that plan looks tidier on a tactics board than it does when the ball starts fizzing through Spain's geometric triangles.
"The theory is very simple, but it's true that pressing a team like Spain isn't straightforward, primarily because of their collective ability to understand the game," he said.
"It's not a case of pressing one or two players; rather, you have to be able to press a great many potential ball recipients at the right moment, in the right space, at the right time and in the right decision-making situations."
Then, he added, comes the other problem. Spain's players are not just part of a system, they are good enough to escape the trap on their own.
"There's their individual ability — in addition to their collective one — to get out of situations on their own that many players aren't capable of handling, in order to overcome that pressure and, naturally, weaken you," Lopetegui said.
CALM BUILD-UP
Both finalists, he said, want the ball and both have players comfortable enough to shape the rhythm of a match. Yet Spain's calm build-up from the back gives them a particularly sharp edge.
"Against a team that wants to have the ball as much as Spain do, the opposition will naturally want to press them, but at the same time it's also an opportunity for Spain to find more space," he said.
"In football, the blanket covers your feet but sometimes leaves your head exposed, doesn't it?"
Spain, Lopetegui said, have a back four and a goalkeeper capable of staying composed, restarting play cleanly and finding the pass that turns pressure into goals.
"That makes it much harder for the opposition to press and, conversely, helps you a great deal," he said, adding that Argentina also have plenty of players in midfield able to keep possession.
For all the tactical chess, Lopetegui believes the final may come down to something less elegant but no less decisive: competitive nerve.
"For me, the main strength of both teams is that they are very competitive," he said. "When you push them to the limit, they usually respond well."
He pointed to Argentina's resilience in knockout danger and Spain's faith in their positional game.
"Spain, who have been able to maintain their composure and calm, believing in their style of play, biding their time, and understanding that their superiority will sooner or later be reflected on the scoreboard," he said.
Lopetegui expects Argentina to threaten with vertical runs from forwards and midfielders, especially from the second line, while Messi, now 39, has reinvented himself for the demands of a different era.
"He's gained other qualities, such as making his teammates play better and optimising his runs into the box," Lopetegui said. "This evolved version of Messi is a different player, and the national team perhaps plays differently to make the most of his strengths."
Spain's threat, by contrast, is spread across the pitch.
"Spain is a team where I believe any player has the potential to take centre stage in the attacking phase," Lopetegui said, citing Pedro Porro's goals, Cucurella's runs, contributions from Fabian Ruiz and Mikel Merino, and Pau Cubarsi's shots.
"It's a team where it's not just the forwards who attack, but the whole team, just as the whole team defends."
In other words, Argentina may try to pull the blanket one way. Spain will attempt to make sure something, somewhere, is left uncovered.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas, editing by Ed Osmond)
