Pressing Spain is simple in theory, painful in practice, says Lopetegui

NEW YORK, July 18 : Julen Lopetegui knows what it is to see Argentina picked apart by Spain's passing carousel, but the former Spain manager says Sunday's World Cup final will be no nostalgic rerun of a friendly thrashing in Madrid.

Lopetegui was in charge the last time Spain faced Argentina, a 6-1 win at the newly opened Metropolitano stadium in 2018, when Lionel Messi was absent and Spain produced the sort of midfield suffocation that can make opponents feel they are chasing shadows.

"It's a wonderful memory because I think we played a brilliant match against a great team like Argentina," Lopetegui said.

"We managed to close down the spaces in midfield, press high up the pitch, and the team put in a good performance. But these are two completely different matches. We're talking about a World Cup final, not a friendly."

Spain arrive after a 2-0 semi-final win over France in which they reduced the tournament's most dangerous attack to a state of frustration and, until after the 80th minute, not a single shot on target.

France players suggested they should have pressed Spain higher and harder. Lopetegui, who coached Qatar at this World Cup and was part of Spain's squad as a goalkeeper in 1994, said that plan looks tidier on a tactics board than it does when the ball starts fizzing through Spain's geometric triangles.

"The theory is very simple, but it's true that pressing a team like Spain isn't straightforward, primarily because of their collective ability to understand the game," he said.

"It's not a case of pressing one or two players; rather, you have to be able to press a great many potential ball recipients at the right moment, in the right space, at the right time and in the right decision-making situations."

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