Spain eye World Cup final vs England or Argentina as Porro and Yamal face late fitness tests

England or Argentina? Spain players ‘have clear preference’ for World Cup final opponent

Pedro Porro’s goal sealed Spain’s impressive 2-0 win over France in their World Cup semi-final (FIFA via Getty) Spain’s players would prefer to play Argentina in the World Cup final instead of England, according to reports. Spain secured their place in the World Cup final with an impressive 2-0 win against France in the semi-final on Tuesday. On Wednesday, England will play Argentina in the second semi-final in Atlanta to decide who will meet Spain in Sunday’s final, which kicks off at 8pm BST. A World Cup final against Spain this weekend would offer England a chance of retribution after their defeat to Luis de la Fuente’s side in the European Championship final in 2024. Exclusive analysis of England v Norway Make sense of the drama with Metro's free daily newsletter. Sign up now. But according to El Chiringuito’s World Cup correspondent Juanfe Sanz, Spain’s players are ‘eager’ to see Argentina beat England in their semi-final so they can face Lionel Messi and his teammates this Sunday. ‘I have less than 23 hours to learn songs I’ll probably never sing again, because I really want to face Argentina in the final. I don’t even want to see England, I want Argentina in the final,’ Sanz said after Spain’s 2-0 win over France in Dallas. Spain will play either England or Argentina in Sunday’s World Cup final (Getty) ‘It’s great that Luis de la Fuente gets along with Scaloni [Argentina’s head coach] and that they chat on the phone, but I want Argentina, and I want to inflict as much damage as possible on the footballing front. ‘I think, and I’m sure of this, that in the Spain’s dressing room, the team they’re most eager to face is Argentina. It’s crystal clear – they don’t want a final against England, they want Argentina. ‘And looking at how things are going, with the confidence they [Spain] show every day, and how they play like they’re untouchable yet still deliver a performance like today’s, let them keep acting that way, with that ego. ‘And let me be clear – I want to crush Argentina. Tomorrow, I’m all about Argentina, I’m totally pro-Argentina.’ Lionel Messi and Argentina will play England on Wednesday (Getty) Asked why Spain’s players would prefer to face Argentina instead of England, Sanz replied: ‘Well, even if we don’t realise it, the polls from shows like El Chiringuito have reached the dressing room, the fans’ sentiment has got through… how they’ve belittled us, the comments from the Argentine press, who I think are a bit full of themselves, I think there was someone on TV who said Argentina would undoubtedly win the World Cup, and others celebrating it as if it were their own national team. ‘It’s the perfect storm, especially after the Finalissima that never happened [Spain’s friendly against Argentina was cancelled in March due to unrest in the Middle East], where they accused us of pulling out because we were afraid of them. ‘Well, the moment has arrived. I hope there’s a 377-minute extra-time period and they end up absolutely exhausted. But I’ll celebrate the final penalty Argentina scores in the shootout tomorrow against England, I’ll celebrate it almost like Porro’s goal today, or Oyarzabal’s goal. So yeah, I’m really looking forward to the final. And if they lose? Well, it’s a win-win situation.’ Luis de la Fuente said before the start of the World Cup that England were a ‘real contender’ (FIFA via Getty) Speaking after his side’s victory over France, Spain head coach, Luis de la Fuente, was also asked if he had a preference between facing Argentina and England in the World Cup final. ‘We were talking yesterday about how this Spain – France semi-final could be an early final, but I also think I mentioned that the Argentina – England match is another early final,’ De la Fuente said. ‘It’s no coincidence we’re here, you know the details, you know the four best teams in the FIFA ranking. That has never happened before in history, it demonstrates the footballing potential that exists at the World Cup. ‘And believe me, right now we’re not in a position to have preferences, we don’t care. ‘Each one has its own traits. Obviously, football in Argentina is not the same as football in England, European football is not the same as South American football. ‘I’m really excited to face Argentina because of my friendship with Lionel Scaloni, but I have a lot of respect for England’s footballing potential. And in my opinion, before coming here to the World Cup I cited England as one of the real contenders. ‘It’s going to be a close match between two major teams but we welcome them with open arms.’ For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

2 hours ago

Spain already have a huge advantage over England if they reach World Cup final

Spain will play England or Argentina in the final on Sunday (Picture: Hector Vivas – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images) England will hope to join Spain in Sunday’s World Cup final by beating Argentina on Wednesday night – but the Three Lions already face a huge disadvantage in their bid to end 60 years of hurt. La Roja dominated France in their semi-final match in Texas on Tuesday evening with Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro scoring either side of half-time. France, tipped by many to win the tournament, saw their campaign end with a whimper, failing to lay a glove on their opponents in what was Didier Deschamps’ final game in charge. Spain were sublime in reaching just their second World Cup final, having conceded just one goal across their seven games so far. Exclusive analysis of England v Norway Make sense of the drama with Metro's free daily newsletter. Sign up now. England hope to secure a shot at revenge against Luis De La Fuente’s side who beat them in the Euro 2024 final two years ago. But they must first beat defending champions Argentina in what is expected to be a brutally physical content on Wednesday. Spain will now have five days to recover with their semi-final kicking off a day before England vs Argentina. Porro’s goal sealed Spain’s semi-final win (Picture: Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images) That extra 24 hours rest could have huge significance come Sunday with former England star David James believing it will have a major role to play. ‘Spain have now got the day advantage. I think England vs Argentina is going to be have a heavy physical toll on both teams,’ said James, who is writing exclusively for Metro throughout the World Cup. ‘When you look at Spain versus Belgium [in the previous round], I don’t think Spain were overexerted physically. They’ve got the extra day now having beaten France. ‘I didn’t think by the way they play they were going to be over-exerted physically. But I think Argentina or England will be registering their highest output in the game on Wednesday, so that extra day I think is going to make a massive difference – especially when you’re looking at England with the likes of Declan Rice who has been suffering. England in training ahead of Wednesday’s showdown (Picture: The FA via Getty Images) ‘It’s how you fit them into training when you’re having to rest most of the players for playing so many minutes. At the moment the balance has been spot on because we are in the semi-final, but that is a skill for the manager, for the coaching staff. ‘But that 24 hours I think makes a massive difference.’ History would suggest the day advantage plays a part with the last three World Cup winners playing their semi-final match before their opponents.  In 2022, Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 in their semi-final the day before France beat Morocco. While a tight final went all the way to penalties it was Argentina who held their nerve. In 2018, eventual champions France beat Belgium in their semi-final, a game played 24 hours before Croatia beat England. It was a similar story in 2014 – Germany’s infamous 7-1 thrashing of Germany took place the day before Argentina saw off Netherlands on penalties. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

4 hours ago

Spain suffer double injury scare ahead of potential England World Cup final

Spain will meet Argentina or England in the final (Picture: Luis Cano/Jam Media/Getty Images) Spain outclassed France in their World Cup semi-final showdown but head into Sunday’s final with two injury concerns. Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro struck either side of half-time for the Euro 2024 champions in Texas on Tuesday evening and will meet either England or Argentina in the final. Porro sealed the win in the second-half, combining brilliantly with Dani Olmo before firing past Mike Maignan. But the Tottenham full-back was withdrawn after 84 minutes, replaced by Marcos Llorente, with AS reporting he asked to come off due to a hamstring strain. Porro looked in some discomfort before his withdrawal with just five days until the final in New Jersey. ‘We’ll see if I’m fit to play. Right now I’d say I’m dead. Time to recover,’ Porro said. Perhaps more of a concern for Spain will have been the sight of Lamine Yamal limping at full-time. Spain boss Luis de La Fuente was hopeful his stars had not suffered any serious knocks with both players to be assessed in the coming days. Spain felt Yamal was targeted during the game (Picture: Luis Cano/Jam Media/Getty Images) ‘He’s fine as far as I know, and Pedro Porro has muscle tightness, which we’ll have to assess ,’ the Spain boss said. Spain midfielder Rodri was unhappy with some of the challenges his young teammate faced from France players on the night, having been cut down by Lucas Digne in an incident that saw Spain handed their first-half penalty. Porro scored Spain’s second before going off (Picture: Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images) ‘It’s clear that we’ve been dealing with this situation of numerous fouls for three games now,’ the Manchester City midfielder said. ‘I understand that some might not be fouls, but we’re talking about 10 or 15 fouls where the lad goes to ground, gets tripped, and they have to call it, because otherwise, the defenders are going to keep doing the same thing. The leniency was quite evident today.’ If England triumph against Argentina on Wednesday night, Sunday’s match will be a repeat of the Euro 2024 final where Oyarzabal sealed a late win for La Roja in Berlin. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

4 hours ago