Defense still wins championships

THE CZECH IS IN THE MAIL

Another World Cup is in the books.

Many fans projected a championship rematch between 2022 champion Argentina with Lionel Messi and France with Kylian Mbappe. Some even dreamed of the ’22 champs facing Portugal for the dream Messi vs. Cristian Ronaldo matchup.

But there was a thorn in the side of all those possibilities – Spain. The Spanish team proved to be a buzzsaw for all three of those teams during its World Cup win, which was capped in a 1-0 victory against Argentina July 19.

Spain also defeated Portugal, 1-0, in the round of 16 and knocked off France, 2-0, in the semifinal. Needless to say, Spain shut down arguably the three best players in the game – Mbappe, Messi and Ronaldo – during its championship run.

How did Spain do it? Defense.

Aside from a scoreless tie in the World Cup opener against first-time qualifier Cape Verde, The Spanish trounced Saudi Arabia, 4-0, and blanked Uruguay, 1-0, to win Group H. Spain hat-tricked Austria, 3-0 in the round of 32 before shutting down Ronaldo and Portugal, 1-0, in the round of 16.

Belgium gave the Spanish something to sweat about when it became the only team to score a goal against “La Roja.” But the score tied the match at 1 before Spain scored in the 88th minute to walk away with a 2-1 victory.

Heavy favorite France proved to be no match for Spain, who used a penalty kick in the 22nd minute and a goal in the 58th to send the French home, 2-0. Spain’s win prevented an Argentina- France rematch.

All that was left was the championship match. Spain dominated, but the match was scoreless after 90 minutes of play.

It wasn’t until the opening seconds of the second extra-time session that the Spanish broke through with a goal from Ferran Torres in the 106th minute. Two shot attempts from Messi were stopped by the Spanish defense, who celebrated a 1-0 victory and its first World Cup title since 2010.

Argentina, France and Portugal might have better players on their rosters, but Spain had the better team. The Spanish played as a team throughout the World Cup and the end result shows.

In total, Spain outscored the opposition, 14-1. A stark reminder that offense might win games or matches, but defense still wins championships.

Jason Chlapek is the Digital Editor of the Elgin Courier, Manor Jour nal and Taylor Press. He can be reached at jason.chlapek @granitemediapartners. com.