{"id":805280,"date":"2026-07-16T08:48:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T08:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/805280\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T08:48:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T08:48:38","slug":"has-lionel-messi-ended-goat-debate-why-have-star-coaches-been-outshone-day-35-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/805280\/","title":{"rendered":"Has Lionel Messi ended GOAT debate? Why have star coaches been outshone? Day 35 recap"},"content":{"rendered":"

Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic app<\/a><\/p>\n

Argentina are through to their second World Cup final in a row, after beating England 2-1 in Atlanta<\/a>. Lionel Messi inspired them during a sensational comeback, with Thomas Tuchel\u2019s tactics after England went 1-0 ahead failing to pay off.<\/p>\n

Emotionally and physically, Argentina will have to regroup in double-quick time: they travel to New York to face Spain in the final on Sunday, knowing they have the chance to be the first team to retain the World Cup since Brazil in 1962.<\/p>\n

As for England, it was an enhanced version of previous failures, immediately sitting back and telling Argentina to attack them for the last half hour of the game \u2014 which they duly did, winning thanks to strikes from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Has Messi already ended the GOAT debate?<\/p>\n

If you still don\u2019t think Messi is the greatest player of all time, what on earth will persuade you?<\/p>\n

Perhaps a second World Cup? If he leads Argentina to be the first team to win back-to-back titles in 64 years? What about if he scores in the final? Scores two, then? A hat-trick? Will that do it?<\/p>\n

Argentina\u2019s win against England gave more proof that you can\u2019t stop Messi. You can try, and occasionally he will go a game without scoring; very occasionally that will be because you have managed to contain him.<\/p>\n

But more often than not, he will find a way<\/a>. Play how you like, he\u2019ll find a way to kill you somehow. Admittedly, England played into his hands by giving him plenty of space outside the box, but even if you can blame them for their tactics after going a goal up, maybe you can\u2019t really blame them for being beaten by Messi.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Lionel Messi celebrates setting up Argentina\u2019s winner against England (Shaun Botterill\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

There was much talk in the early days of this tournament about the biggest stars really turning it on. And it was great to see Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Vinicius Junior, Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Michael Olise all stepping up<\/a>, all scoring goals, all doing what superstars should do. Cristiano Ronaldo half fits into this category: while he was quite clearly a burden to his team<\/a>, ultimately he did score three goals in five games.<\/p>\n

But in the end there\u2019s only one of them standing. None of those other players could drag their team through when they needed it. None of them scored, or provided an assist, or really contributed in any meaningful way to the games that eliminated their teams.<\/p>\n

Messi continues to make the difference. He didn\u2019t score, but he set up both goals for Argentina against England \u2014 one with an admittedly routine pass, but the other courtesy of a delicious cross. He\u2019s through to the World Cup final again, and all the other stars are going home.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s greatness. The greatest of all time.<\/p>\n

Why are low-profile coaches outshining the stars at the World Cup?<\/p>\n

The World Cup final will be contested by one coach who sort of got the job by accident, and another who spent the decade before he got the job coaching in his country\u2019s youth system.<\/p>\n

Lionel Scaloni<\/a> was nobody\u2019s idea of the man to finally help Messi win the World Cup when he was appointed in 2018. After failure at that year\u2019s tournament, Jorge Sampaoli was fired at great cost, meaning the Argentine federation couldn\u2019t afford a bigger name. Scaloni, who had been one of Sampaoli\u2019s assistants, was initially appointed caretaker, and when he was given the job permanently, it didn\u2019t go down well. Diego Maradona railed against the selection of a man who he said \u201ccouldn\u2019t even direct traffic\u201d.<\/p>\n

But should they beat Spain on Sunday, he will have won four major tournaments in a row \u2014 the Copa America twice, and the World Cup twice \u2014 which is unprecedented. It will make him the first coach to retain the World Cup since Vittorio Pozzo did it with Italy in the 1930s.<\/p>\n

The man in the other dugout isn\u2019t any more glamorous. Or at least wasn\u2019t when he was appointed. Spain\u2019s Luis de la Fuente dutifully worked his way up the age groups, first taking charge of the under-19s, then the under-21s, then the under-23s, before moving up to the senior side in 2022.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Luis de la Fuente has got the best out of Spain despite his lack of star reputation (Carl Recine\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Despite their lack of significant reputations, they have both created teams that work: Scaloni by finding a way to construct a framework to make the most of their all-time genius; De la Fuente by adapting Spain\u2019s traditional possession game to suit this new generation. Perhaps their lack of a reputation has helped them succeed: their lack of ego means they are more likely to subjugate themselves to the needs of the team rather than impose their own preconceived ideas.<\/p>\n

There is, perhaps, a lesson there for some of the other countries who decided that the way to go was a big-name, expensive coach.<\/p>\n

Tuchel proved inadequate<\/a> and cost England their semi-final. Mauricio Pochettino ultimately couldn\u2019t get the USMNT beyond roughly where their talent levels suggested they should be. Carlo Ancelotti departed at the last-16 stage with Brazil.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s quite gratifying that, in the international game at least, the biggest names and the deepest pockets do not necessarily equate to success.<\/p>\n

Is the third-place play-off the saddest match in football?<\/p>\n

The saddest match in football history took place in April 2013. It was a Premier League game between Reading and Queens Park Rangers. It was a stultifying, boring 0-0 draw, a result that meant both teams were relegated. It was about as bleak as football gets.<\/p>\n

However, the third-place play-off \u2014 or the \u2018Bronze Final\u2019, as FIFA is calling it now \u2014 isn\u2019t far behind. Enter France and England, who will have to drag themselves to Miami on Saturday after their respective demoralising defeats and pretend that this game means something.<\/p>\n

On reflection, perhaps the party capital of the United States wasn\u2019t the most appropriate choice for this game of sadness. Maybe FIFA thought that a night or two on South Beach would cheer up the players and fans who will shuffle into town for this one, but you would imagine enthusiasm will be low.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not completely pointless. Third place is, after all, better than fourth place. It\u2019s still a game at an actual World Cup, and a chance for some of those who haven\u2019t yet appeared to get some time on the pitch and perhaps make it feel like a not completely wasted trip.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Kylian Mbappe still has a Golden Boot to win (Lars Baron\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a chance for Kylian Mbappe to go for the Golden Boot<\/a>. He\u2019s on eight goals, level with Messi, and it will be rather easier to pad out his numbers against a half-interested England as opposed to Messi facing Spain\u2019s smothering defence. Croatia\u2019s Davor Suker scored the goal that secured him the top scorer title in the 1998 third-place play-off, as did Italy\u2019s Salvatore Schillaci in 1990 and Germany\u2019s Thomas Muller in 2010.<\/p>\n

But ultimately this is a game that nobody wants or needs. The players have been away for the best part of six weeks, a gruelling tournament that has ended in disappointment, and they all need a rest before the relentless demands of the domestic season reappear all too soon.<\/p>\n

They will want to be absolutely anywhere else on the planet on Saturday. And who can blame them?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic app Argentina are through to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":805281,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[12624,49,48,588,103818,637,571,10551,574,561,7413,82],"class_list":["post-805280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-argentina","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-england","tag-fifa-mens-world-cup","tag-france","tag-international-football","tag-la-liga","tag-premier-league","tag-soccer","tag-spain","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=805280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/805281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=805280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=805280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=805280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}