Before the World Cup final, Spain’s biggest concern was Lionel Messi, and they were making various plans to stop him. Ahead of the title clash at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente built special plans around Messi. At the pre-final news conference, de la Fuente made clear that no single footballer can stop Messi. “You cannot stop Messi with one player,” he said. “To stop him, the whole team has to work together.”
The Spanish outlet Marca reported that Spain’s coaching staff, after closely analysing Argentina’s recent matches, prepared three main tactics to contain Messi. The first plan is to surround him with several players the moment he gets the ball — not one, but collective pressure to deny him time to make a decision. The second plan is more important: Spain want the ball not to reach Messi at all, choosing to press Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández and Alexis Mac Allister in midfield to shut down the passing lanes, believing that cutting his supply can greatly limit his influence. The third plan is to establish full midfield dominance and leave the Argentine captain no open space, especially by quickly closing the space between defence and midfield so Messi cannot create one-on-one situations.
Meanwhile, the Argentine outlet TYC Sports claimed that coach Lionel Scaloni is aware of Spain’s plans and has already begun special preparations on midfield arrangement and ball speed to counter Spain’s likely pressing.
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