Rodri looks back to his imperious best in Spain’s midfield while Enzo Fernández has a day to forget for Argentina
Spain
Unai Simón Was alert to clear danger after Cubarsí’s early mistake. Otherwise could have brought his slippers. 7
Pedro Porro Doesn’t look like a player who was in a relegation battle a few weeks ago. Was outstanding again. 8
Pau Cubarsí Got away with his early error and didn’t put a foot wrong after that. Incredible that he is still only 19. 8
Aymeric Laporte A steadying presence at the back. Could have been the hero in normal time if his header had been either side of Martínez. 7
Marc Cucurella Always 100% committed to the cause as usual. Able to get forward whenever he fancied it. 8
Rodri The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner looks back to his imperious best. Bossed midfield in his imposing style. 9
Dani Olmo At the heart of most of Spain’s best moves. Produced a lovely flick to set up Lamine Yamal for an early chance. 8
Fabián Ruiz Such a clever player. Finds space where others can’t. A surprise to see him taken off early. 7
Lamine Yamal Looked determined to stamp his authority on proceedings. The heir to Messi’s crown is now a world champion. 8
Álex Baena Usually provides real guile from the left flank but had a relatively quiet afternoon by his standards. 6
Mikel Oyazarbal Put in the hard yards with endless running before being replaced on the hour. 7
Substitutes: Ferran Torres (for Oyazarbal 62) Had a great chance to score just after coming on before etching his name into the history books with a sublime finish in extra time, 8; Pedri (for Ruiz 62) What a player to be able to bring on – took over where Rodri left off, 8; Nico Williams (for Baena 75) Injected some real urgency. Unlucky to have goal ruled out but assist for Torres was inspired, 9; Mikel Merino (for Olmo 75) So close to scoring another late winner after doing so against Portugal and Spain, 7; Eric García (for Laporte 99) A of couple of dicey moments but saw his team home in the end, 6; Martín Zubimendi (for Rodri 99) Added a calmness in the heat of extra time, 7.
Argentina
Emiliano Martínez Thrived again on biggest stage of them all. Pulled off three brilliant saves but could do nothing about the winner. 8
Gonzalo Montiel Ate up the ground to make a crucial covering tackle to deny Cucurella before being replaced. 6
Cristian Romero The Tottenham defender was forced off with an injury after a typically battling display and was sorely missed. 8
Lisandro Martínez Booked for fouling Oyarzabal and picked up an injury in the process that brought a premature end to his afternoon. 6
Nicolás Tagliafico Had his hands full with Lamine Yamal and far too often played himself into trouble. 5
Rodrigo De Paul Little evidence of his attacking skills as Spain dominated possession and made way for Simeone. 5
Alexis Mac Allister Got away with an awful early tackle on Olmo. Guilty of some uncharacteristically loose passing at times. 5
Enzo Fernández Not his finest hour. Had to be sent off after clattering into Cubarsí to pick up a silly second yellow. 3
Nicolás González Rewarded with starting place after starring off the bench against England in semi-final but couldn’t impose himself on proceedings this time. 5
Julián Álvarez Barely touched the ball in the first half. Just couldn’t get into the game and was sacrificed after Fernández’s red card. 5
Lionel Messi Not the swansong he would have dreamed of. Can’t be expected to keep saving Argentina for ever. 6
Substitutes: Nicolás Otamendi (for Lisandro Martínez 44) Has always lacked pace and even more so now he is 38, 5. Leandro Paredes (for González ht) Brought on to add some more ballast in midfield but could not stem the flow. Disgraced himself with behaviour after final whistle and was shown red card, 6; Nahuel Molina (for Montiel 58) Helpless to stop a marauding Williams when he came off the bench, 5; Facundo Medina (for Romero 70) Looked extremely vulnerable against the pace of Torres, 5; Giuliano Simeone (for De Paul 70) Pulled out all the tricks to try to waste time. Should concentrate on playing football. Missed best chance to equalise, 4; Marcos Senesi (for Álvarez 102) Tried to shore things up at the back but wasn’t an easy task with 10 men, 5.
