"Honestly, the semi-finals were more fun." Messi had zero shots... World Cup final criticized as "boring"

*This content was translated by AI.

Although high expectations were raised when "the God of Soccer," Lionel Messi (Inter Miami, Argentina), faced Spain's new golden generation, the final was not as thrilling as anticipated. Overseas media continued to offer critical assessments of the match content.

On the 20th (Korea time), Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in the 2026 FIFA North American World Cup final held at the New York-New Jersey Stadium in New York, USA, thanks to a late goal by Ferran Torres (Barcelona) in the extra time's second half.

With this victory, Spain reached the pinnacle of the World Cup for the second time in its history, 16 years after winning its first title at the 2010 South Africa tournament. Having conquered both Euro 2024 and the North American World Cup, Spain has firmly established itself as the undisputed world's strongest team.

Spain also continued its unbeaten streak in A-match games for 38 consecutive matches. During this period, it recorded 29 wins and 9 draws, surpassing Italy to set a new all-time record for the most consecutive unbeaten games. The last defeat was a 0-1 loss to Colombia in March 2024.

On the other hand, Argentina failed to achieve back-to-back World Cup titles. Challenging for the top spot once again after the 2022 Qatar tournament, they could not cross the final hurdle.

Regardless of the result, the match content left much to be desired. Although the world's best teams faced off for the championship trophy, both sides seemed wary of defeat and avoided taking risks. Criticism was raised that the match lacked the excitement befitting a World Cup final.

German soccer specialty outlet Bavarian Football Works stated, "Honestly, the semi-finals were more fun," adding, "This always happens in finals. It's the same in the UEFA Champions League (UCL). Safe, boring, and cautious soccer unfolds." The outlet further noted, "The semi-finals carry less pressure than the final but offer greater entertainment."

In reality, both teams focused more on stable operations than aggressive confrontation. Especially Argentina, having completely surrendered the initiative to Spain, struggled to find a breakthrough. They managed only two total shots and recorded zero on-target attempts. Messi also managed just one shot attempt.

The outlet also pointed out Argentina's poor performance. Bavarian Football Works remarked, "It is hard to call a match particularly thrilling when there was not even a single shot until the second hydration break." It added, "Compared to the performances in Spain-France semi-finals and England-Argentina matches, the difference was as clear as night and day."

Furthermore, it analyzed, "This final is another proof that true entertainment is hard to come out on the biggest stage. If too many things are restricted, teams take fewer risks. Then soccer naturally becomes less interesting."

However, Spain's successful containment of Messi was highly praised. Spain thoroughly blocked passing lanes to prevent Argentina's attacks from reaching Messi.

The outlet explained, "Spain excellently contained Messi so that he could not show his presence in the match," noting, "Argentina possessed the greatest player in soccer history but failed to deliver the ball to him properly."

It continued, "Messi was threatening when he got the ball, but such moments were too few and far between," pointing out, "This is a problem inherent to teams that rely on a single absolute ace."

Positive evaluations were also made regarding Argentina's resilience. In this tournament, Argentina found itself in dire straits multiple times but managed to turn the tide in the final minutes of regular time or during extra time. Even in the final, after conceding a goal and facing a numerical disadvantage, they aggressively pushed Spain while seeking an equalizer.

Bavarian Football Works evaluated, "For three consecutive matches, teams that took the lead against Argentina—Egypt, England, and now Spain—completely surrendered the initiative," calling it "truly hard to understand."

It further stated, "Argentina could barely touch the ball for the first 110 minutes. So how could they completely overwhelm Spain in just 10 minutes after being reduced to 10 players?" The outlet added, "Spain faced several major crises. In the end, Argentina's luck simply ran out."

While noting, "Argentina created some unbelievable comebacks during this tournament and deserves recognition for ultimately producing results regardless of match content," it expressed regret that "in the final, that alone was not enough. If they had shown the same courage and intensity throughout the match as in the last 10 minutes, Spain would have been shaken and collapsed."

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*This content was translated by AI.