Alan Shearer has backed Argentina to beat Spain in the World Cup final, but he is not totally confident and says there is just one reason for his prediction: the defending champions' guts.
Spain's strong form vs Argentina's resilience
Spain go into the final in New Jersey as favourites with the bookmakers, but not overwhelmingly so. The European champions were brilliant in their 2-0 semi-final win over France and have conceded just one goal all tournament, demonstrating their credentials. Argentina, meanwhile, have had to scrap their way into the final, needing extra-time in two knockout games and winning the other two at the death after coming from behind.
The Spaniards have made calmer, less dramatic progress, but Argentina have shown an incredible will to win and resilience in the face of testing situations. They also have Lionel Messi in sparkling form.
Shearer's reasoning
Shearer reckons the guts the defending champions have displayed will get them over the line again. 'Honestly, I think it's such a difficult one to predict,' Shearer told Betfair. 'If I was to talk about Spain, I would say the way they played against France in the semi-finals they were outstanding. Bear in mind, it's the same Spain that in their first game of the tournament, they couldn't beat Cape Verde. But again, they got beaten off Switzerland in 2010, when they won it as well. So, they're a great team. The way they manage and keep the ball is unbelievable.'
'But then you look at Argentina and think they've been in some really sticky situations. I mean, 2-0 down to Egypt and 1-0 down against England and they just come back and there's just something about them that you have to admire. Whether you like them or not, you've got to admire their guts basically and how gutsy they are. And when Messi is in your team, you've always got a chance. So honestly, I'm just going to say Argentina just because of how gutsy they are.'
Shearer's overall World Cup assessment
Reflecting on the World Cup as it concludes, Shearer has been left baffled by some things but sees the event in a good light. 'I think it's been a really good World Cup,' he said. 'I was a tad worried in terms of the lack of quality in the early parts of the competition, but there's some great stories that have come out of it and Cape Verde have been one of them. I mean, not losing to Spain and Argentina over 90 minutes was incredible for them. So, that was a great success story, and it's had some great moments.'
'Clearly the travelling has been an issue. The heat hasn't been an issue as much as we thought it was going to be. I haven't liked the hydration breaks at all. We know why they were brought in. Some of the refereeing decisions and VAR decisions were baffling to me as we knew they would be. But in general, I think it's been a good World Cup.'
