May the best team win...

One thing is for certain... Spain will not be granting Lionel Messi the “freedom of the Metlife Stadium”, allowing him to choose podium position to orchestrate his Argentinian performers.

Excuse the name-dropping. One distinct memory was working alongside the great Michael Laudrup who told me to keep an eye on Messi for the first quarter of the game. “He'll just stroll around, looking disinterested,” said a man who can be regarded as a football legend in his own right.

Laudrup pointed out that he's just casing the joint. Looking for a weakness in the security, a way through the defences before swooping with stealth. That was a probably a decade and a half ago. I seem to recall that Messi flicked his switch and won the game for Barcelona.

Spring forward to 2026 and the veteran appeared to be spectating the semi-final on Argentina's right touchline as his teammates got up to all kinds of skulduggery. With the clock ticking down, he cracked the code and proved to be the spare man who masterminded the two killer goals.

I think it can be acknowledged that he has footballing powers that no other footballers possess.

Spain will be aware. I suspect they will prioritise a personal guard to detail the pocket genius. Spain also have a more formidable team than anyone Argentina has yet faced.

The brilliance of coach Luis de la Fuente cannot be underestimated. He has forged a different brand of Spain team; it is fluid, but not tiki-taka. It has excellent players, but does not rely on any individual. The players are interchangeable, but the system is consistent.

De la Fuente knows his own mind and firmly believes in his own plan. Very few would have chosen Unai Simón as the starting goalkeeper, yet he's conceded just a single goal in seven matches. Some may have been reticent to include Rodri who looked rusty in the build-up to the tournament; now, the former World Player of the year looks like a candidate to win the award again.

It is very much substance combined with style. He recognises that he doesn't have a world-class striker; it could be argued that he doesn't have an international class centre-forward. His solution has been Mikel Oyarzabal who has scored 17 goals in his last 24 matches for Spain.

It is very much the best man for the job. New signing Marc Cucurella is the only Real Madrid representative. There is a spine of Barcelona players, but club politics and reputations mean nothing. When Pedri didn't produce, he was moved aside.

Like England in the semi-final, it is very likely that Spain can take a one-goal lead. Unlike Thomas Tuchel, he won't immediately change his tactics. This version of Spain is very capable of defending a slender lead without converting to a five-man back-line and throwing on extra defenders.

I'm sure the one exception he will make to his trusty blueprint is not allowing Messi to survey the scene and set up his stall.

May the best team win - and let's hope it is Spain.