Former England striker Michael Owen has confidently predicted that Spain will defeat Argentina in the World Cup final on Sunday, describing the Spanish side as 'a lot better' than their opponents.
Spain's dominant run
Spain secured their place in the final with a commanding 2-0 victory over tournament favourites France in New Jersey. Goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro sealed the win, extending Spain's remarkable defensive record to just one goal conceded throughout the tournament. Luis de la Fuente's side, the reigning European champions, are now unbeaten in 37 matches, tying the record set by a European nation in men's international football.
Argentina's path to the final
Argentina, the defending champions, reached the final after a dramatic 2-1 comeback win against England, with late goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez. They are aiming to become only the third team to retain the World Cup trophy. However, Owen believes their journey has been fortunate.
Owen's assessment
'Argentina have had quite a lucky path through to the semi-finals,' Owen told Sky Sports. 'They made hard work of Cape Verde, they made hard work of Egypt, they scored last-minute goals against England. We probably let them through as opposed to beating us and I don't think they've been very impressive throughout the tournament. Whereas Spain are impressive, that performance against France was pure class; that was a serious performance against a great opponent. I think Spain are a lot better than Argentina and I expect them to win the World Cup and deservedly so.'
Criticism of England's approach
Owen also criticised England's approach in their semi-final defeat, particularly in the final 30 minutes. 'After an hour, we're in total control. We're 1-0 up. All we had to do was watch Spain the night before and see what happens when you're 1-0 up. Keep playing, keep the ball, stay brave, stay confident and we just panic, and we're scared of losing. And then even our manager makes mistakes, throws on three defenders and takes off attacking players. Totally hands the initiative to Argentina. We gave them that game.'
He added: 'Our problem was against Mexico. We did exactly the same. We're in total control, two goals ahead and we go all negative and think this is great football, this is brave football, defending our box. It's not. It's not. I can get my local pub team to do that and that's where we lost the tournament: celebrating beating Mexico the way we did. It was the wrong way.'
Third-place play-off
The two losing semi-finalists, England and France, will face each other in the World Cup third-place play-off on Saturday.
