Spain trust team identity to deliver World Cup glory

The final moment has arrived, and Spain want their second star. To win this World Cup, they don't need to do anything spectacular—they just need to keep calm and carry on playing the same way.

I am back in Madrid now after working on the tournament for the BBC, and I would say the whole country believes Spain can beat Argentina on Sunday and bring home the trophy like they did in 2010. That confidence comes from many sources: winning Euro 2024, their long unbeaten run of 37 games, and of course the way they beat France in the semi-final.

Strength in the collective

The strength of this Spain team lies in the group and their mentality. They are a collective in the way they all play together, and they have an identity they believe in, which means they always keep doing the same things. Their first game of this World Cup was a 0-0 draw with Cape Verde—not the result they expected—but they did not panic and did not change their approach. It was the same against Portugal and Belgium in the knockout rounds, when they had to fight until the last minute to score a winner, and, in a different way, it was the same when they went in front early against France in the semi-final. France were one of the big favourites to win the whole competition and had scored many goals in their other games, but Spain stayed positive and did not change their approach to try to hang on to their lead.

Having that clear identity and sticking with it is the most important thing, especially now. Spain can change some personnel within the team, but they always keep the same shape, and their mindset is always the same too—it is about having the ball and controlling the game as much as possible. Of course, sometimes a game can bring different situations, but so far Spain have not been behind in any of their seven games at this World Cup, which is remarkable. If that happens in the final and they go behind against Argentina, they won't change. They will keep that same calmness they have shown from the start, until the very end.

Alvarez can make a difference, just like Messi

Everyone in Spain is feeling confident about the final, but of course Argentina will feel exactly the same way. They are the holders and have also shown enough to be world champions again. It is going to be very tough, especially because Lionel Messi is in such amazing form and has shown everyone his ambition and desire. Spain knows very well how he can make the difference at any point in the game, as he did against England when he changed his position a little bit and went over to the right to find more space. But they also know a lot about the rest of the Argentina team—how dangerous they are and how they will give everything to fight for the trophy so they can take it home.

I played with a few players from their squad when I was with Atletico Madrid from 2023 to 2025, and I know all about their mentality and their quality too. One of them was Julian Alvarez, who I would describe as a very complete player because he is not like a pure number nine, or even a 10 who drops deeper. He can do the work on the wing as well, and he wants to be everywhere. Sometimes he does drop back, but he is also a very clinical striker, and wherever he is on the pitch, he is always trying to get into the box and finish things for the team. Julian can shoot from outside the area too, with his right or left foot, and we have seen many amazing goals from him for club and country. He is a player I have played against as well as with, and it is very difficult to keep him in one place because he is always moving, always trying to find the free space, to work for the team as well as himself—to connect one-twos and link play because he knows when to hold the ball and when to release it quickly.