World Cup Final Preview | Will it be Messi again or will Spain reign? | With Sam Allardyce and Gaizka Mendieta

Argentina looking to become the first team since Brazil back in 1958, 1962 to win back-to-back world championships.

But I think they are the favorite.

Spain, aren't they, who are expected to put a spanner in the works, Crook?

Yeah.

I think when you look at the, the Spanish performance in the semifinal, it was impossible not to be impressed with how they made a good France team look very average.

Argentina obviously rode their luck against England coming from behind again, uh, in these knockout rounds.

They do look defensively vulnerable.

I still think that defeat was more on Thomas Tuchel than it was about Argentina actually stepping up to the plate.

Although I was impressed with how calm they remained as they were looking for, uh, the equalizer and obviously ultimately the winner i- in stoppage time.

So i- it's a fascinating contest.

Is it all about Spain's defense against mesmeric Messi? Potentially.

If, if Argentina are gonna win a second successive World Cup, then he's gonna be right at the forefront of it, isn't he?

Irresistible force against the immovable object, isn't it? Argentina, 19 goals for the tournament so far.

They've won all seven matches.

Spain have conceded only once during the entire tournament.

They're unbeaten as well.

The tournament's strongest attack against the most d- disciplined defense.

I think the shape is really interesting because the way that Spain build up, they almost build up with three at the back, one in midfield in Rodri, the pivot.

Then Ruiz and Olmo occupying sort of like the half spaces in between the, uh, opponent's midfield and, and defense.

Uh, they try and form a little bit of a diamond.

Baena comes in from the left-hand side.

Cucurella pushes on on the outside.

That causes a bit of an issue for opponents.

I wonder whether or not Argentina have got the discipline to be able to deal with that sort of tactical flexibility that Spain have shown.

Probably not [laughs] is, is the brutal answer on what we've seen in these, in these knockout rounds because they were very close to, to coming a cropper against Cape Verde, even closer against Egypt, and obviously one-nil down for a long time, uh, against England.