Before I get into my blog, I would like to thank those who sent messages of support and condolences. The death of a parent is never easy and can be a shock. It will take some time to overcome. Actually there was a period of time when her health was in critical condition that I felt lost and neglected a lot of things that gave me vitality. It was during those days that I learned that writing is one thing that helped bring my vitality back. Back in June, it helped me get a lot of energy back. In talking with my father yesterday, he said it’s not too soon after my mother’s passing to publish a blog. She would want us to live life again. He’s right. Loss is hard but you have to live again.

Can you believe it? We had 102 matches this World Cup so far contested over these past 38 days! It’s crazy that the last World Cup, there were a total of 64 matches. Here, the end of the 64th match still had more Group Stage games to go! The Group Stage was loaded with craziness. First was the invincible play of Mexico, the shocking 6-0 win form Canada against Qatar, small nations like Cabo Verde and Curacao performing better than expected while nations like Turkey, Uruguay, Scotland, Tunisia and South Korea performing below their normal standard and paying the price. There was also the unfairness to Iran where they could play in the United States but had to train in Mexico. Their missed qualification is hugely disputed. There were a lot of calls made during the games that were widely disputed, but that’s common in every World Cup.

The the Round Of 32, all three host nations won their matches, shocker penalty kick upsets with Paraguay over Germany, Egypt over Australia and Morocco over the Netherlands, and a tight match involving the two highly ranked teams of Portugal vs. Croatia which Portugal won. The Round Of 16 saw all three host nations fall. The fall to the United States was satisfying to their rival Belgium after the intervention of Donald Trump to get the red card of US player Folarin Balogun. In the Round Of 16, there was also the surprise win of Norway over Brazil, Switzerland’s penalty kick win over Colombia, another clash of two Top 10 teams with Spain vs. Portugal which Spain won, and Argentina’s come from behind over Egypt which many have found suspicious (more on that later). The quarterfinals had their own drama with many a tight game and close matches to be decided in added extra time like England’s win over Norway and Argentina’s win over Switzerland which was also controversial. The drama continued in the semifinals as Spain delivered a shocker winner over the more-favored French squad and the always-heated rivalry of England vs. Argentina where Argentina again came from behind. To say these World Cup matches have been packed with drama is an understatement.

THE FINAL: Spain vs Argentina

So here we are. It’s been 102 matches so far and it was what we needed at this Cup to determine which of the 48 teams are to be the final two to play for the Cup! The match is against reigning World Cup champions and current Copa America champions Argentina and the current European champions Spain. La Roja has only won the World Cup once before and this will only be their second World Cup final ever. La Albiceleste have won the World Cup three times and this will be their seventh World Cup final ever. They’re equal with Germany with as many finals and outdone only by Brazil with eight finals. So what do this year’s two finalists have in store?

SPAIN

Traditionally, Spain has been commonly known as ‘football’s greatest underachievers.’ They would always arrive at the World Cup with a squad full of talent and ability to win due to the players’ combined skill level, but they would frequently fall short as a team. Most of the time, they would find themselves out in the quarterfinals or sooner. The turning point came in 2010. They were the reigning European Champions. Their play was conservative but consistent and they won their first-ever World Cup.

They would repeat as European Champions in 2012 and would win the Confederations Cup in 2013, but it would all fall apart after that. At the 2014 World Cup, they were out in the Group Stage after losing their first two games badly. At both the 2016 Euro and the 2018 World Cup, they were out in the Round Of 16 of both tournaments. They finished in the semifinals of Euro 2020 but would later see World Cup disappointment again with another Round Of 16 finish. After that World Cup, Luis de la Fuente became the new head coach of the team. Before the World Cup, Spain under de la Fuente’s leadership won the 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals and the 2024 Euro.

Here at this World Cup, Spain again showed success. They opened on a lackluster note with a scoreless draw to Cabo Verde, but would rally up in the group play by winning 4-0 to Saudi Arabia and 1-0 to Uruguay. The knockout round was where Spain really shined. They won their Round Of 32 match against Austria 3-0, their tight Round Of 16 match to Portugal with a last-minute goal from Merino, their quarterfinal against Belgium 2-1 and would win their semifinal against France 2-0.

Spain’s play has been very impressive at this World Cup as a result of the teamwork from goalkeeper Unai Simon, strikers Mikel Oyarzabal and Mikel Merino, midfielders Fabian Ruiz and 18 year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal, and defenders like Pedro Porro and Marc Cucurella. Their play has been mostly consistent. However Spain has had a habit in the past of choking at major moments. This team has appeared to be on in terms of performing but they have made mistakes in play and it is possible they can commit an error they won’t be able to rally back on. If they want to win, they need to be dead-on.

ARGENTINA

Argentina and the World Cup almost seems synonymous. It is a bit misleading as they may have won three times but they’re more known for the times they fall short. That was especially exposed when Lionel Messi burst onto the scene. He made his World Cup debut in 2006 at the age of 19 and was nicknamed ‘Messidona.’ A third World Cup was anticipated with the growth of Messi’s career but it became a case where Argentina was putting all the pressure on Messi. Sure they had other competent players but Messi couldn’t be the only one holding the team together. That became evident after they lost the World Cup final in 2014. It was even more evident after their Round Of 16 exit in 2018 and past retirements of Messi from the national team, albeit short-lived retirements.

It was evident Argentina wanted to win the World Cup for the nation and for Messi. After the 2018 World Cup, Lionel Scaloni was hired as head coach. Scaloni and the AFA knew they needed other players that were also at the top of their game. In the years leading up to the 2022 World Cup, they got them. There’s goalkeeper Emi ‘Dibu’ Martinez, defenders Nicolas Tagliafico, Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez, midfielders like Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister and Rodrigo de Paul, and forwards like Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez joining Messi. The combination proved to be a winning success as they first won the 2021 Copa America. At the 2022 World Cup, they lost their opener to Saudi Arabia but made up for it by winning every match after. Even on penalty kicks in their quarterfinal against the Netherlands and the final for the Cup against France! Messi finally got his World Cup.

After Qatar 2022, there was a big question of how the team would be and if Messi would soon retire. As time went on, Messi continued with the team and the team had continued success with winning the Copa America in 2024 and success in qualifying for the World Cup. Along the years, they’ve added new stars to the team like forwards Nicolas Gonzales and Giuliano Simeone, and defender Facundo Medina. Here at the World Cup, they went through the Group Stage effortlessly with wins against Algeria 3-0, Austria 2-0 and Jordan 3-1. In the knockout phase, there was win after win by defeating Cabo Verde 3-2 in added extra time, Egypt 3-2, Switzerland 3-1 in added extra time and England 2-1. Argentina proved themselves ready to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to successfully defend their Cup.

Their wins may have dazzled crowds here at United 2026 but they’ve also garnered suspicion. Even before this World Cup, there has been suspicion that there would be a lot of corruption with FIFA President Giovanni Infantino having ties to Trump. One of the elements of corruption people have sensed is that Argentina has had the officiating in their favor so they can win matches. Many teams have sensed that they received more fouls than average but many teams have also sensed that Argentina is one of the least fouled teams at this Cup, if not the least fouled. The first suspicion started in the Round Of 16 match against Egypt where five of the players received cardings including one red carded while Argentina didn’t get any. Even how the win went from Egypt leading 2-0 after 80 minutes to Argentina scoring three in the remaining time did not sit well. This infuriated the Egyptian coach so much, he delivered an outburst that even got him a yellow card. Further suspicion came after their quarterfinal against Switzerland. Their win was another come-from-behind victory, Lautaro Martinez jumped into the stands and not getting his second yellow card of the match, and Swiss player Embolo got a double-yellow red card. Further investigation noticed the lack of fouls and carding on Argentina. The sense of match fixing from viewers has gotten so tense, some people have even stated on social media FIFA now stands for “Fixing It For Argentina.”

The sense of match fixing is enough to raise my eyebrows and question the legitimacy of the matches. I have seen many a match that looked too staged to be real. The arguments against Argentina seem very convincing. Meanwhile right after the England game, Messi has insisted that no play is scripted and none of the play is fixed. As for how it will affect play in the World Cup final, that is to question. Fixed or not, there’s no question Argentina wants the world to think it’s not fixed. If they win, people will think it was fixed by Infantino. If they lose, people may think they fixed it to make it look like it’s not fixed. The shoutings of such suspicions may or may not affect Argentina’s play but it is possible as the news of the overturned red card definitely affected the American team and may be why they lost to Belgium. Either which way, Argentina will have to play their best in the final and call their shots if they want to settle the score either by victory or defeat.

My Final Prediction: Finals are never easy to predict. Even the surest of the sure can be beat in the end. That’s sport. There’s no such thing as ‘rightfully yours.’ It’s all won. My prediction is I expect Spain to win and the score to be 2-1 in Added Extra Time.

And there you have it! That’s my prediction for the 2026 World Cup Final. It’s thirty-nine eyebrow-raising days in the making in what has become the biggest World Cup ever. But that’s what it all boils down to.

One Final Note: With the recent passing of my mother, I have something to show you. My mother was very creative. Her creativity ranged in making crafts for sale like baker’s clay, sewn kitchenware, fabric jewellery and would also go into quilting. Many years ago, she made me a quilt I still keep on top of my bed. The quilt she made for me were of my favorite things and hobbies at the time which are things I still like. She had the computer for my writing, masks for my love of drama, a camera for my hobby of photography, and play of the World Cup as you can see at the bottom. Thanks Mom for reminding me to let my own creativity come out!