Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart reckons Argentina will upset the odds in the World Cup final and Lionel Messi will be lifting the trophy again on Sunday night.
Spain go into the monumental clash in New Jersey as favourites after their thoroughly impressive 2-0 win over France in the semi-finals.
Before then they had been steady without really sparkling, with narrow wins over Portugal and Belgium in the round of 16 and quarters.
Such was their dominant display against the French, though, that they are now favourites with the bookmakers to beat the defending champions.
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Argentina have not been dominant at all in the knockout stages, but have shown immense resilience and calmness under pressure to repeatedly emerge from sticky situations.
All four victories since the group stage – against Cape Verde, Egypt, Switzerland and England – have come in dramatic fashion, either in extra time or in the final moments before the 90 minutes are over.
It is this quality that has convinced Hart they will win again on Sunday. That and the fact they have the best player ever on their side.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football, Hart said: ‘It’s hard to put the other night behind us and it’s hard to not feel anything towards Argentina, but if I’m to completely numb myself as a neutral, I’m so excited for this game and I’m so excited to see how Argentina can ruin the perfect football of Spain.
‘I’m going to go the other way [to Spain], I think they’re going to punch the life out of each other, very similar. And when it comes to those big moments…Lionel Messi is phenomenal, the level he’s at.
‘To see what he did the other night in the cauldron, when everyone else was emotional. The guy’s heartrate didn’t get above 60. He was just super calm. He won’t take offence to Spain having the ball. I’m really excited to see it.’
Confirming his pick for the final, the former Manchester City star said: ‘I’m going to go with Argentina, I think there’s something special about them.’
Brazil legend Ronaldo is not on board with Hart’s prediction at all, backing Spain to comfortably beat the defending champions.
‘I think Spain wins and the game will be easy,’ Ronaldo said on his official TikTok account.
‘For me, France and Spain have always been the favourites and I always remember the programme before the France – Spain game I said the champion would win that game.
‘I think Spain wins easy with football played in an extraordinary way. Their DNA is not just the football played in this World Cup, they have been doing this for a long time, they grew up doing it like this, playing this way.
‘I think there’s a lot of [Pep] Guardiola in there to have started this philosophy, it’s at Barcelona in 2006, 2007.
‘So I think Spain wins easy. I don’t believe Argentina has the strength to become a game of a 1-0, 2-0 because Spain will have possession of the ball all of the time.
‘What is still an absolute success for Argentina for this World Cup is the way they turned games on several occasions, Messi, one more time makes one more beautiful story at a World Cup, it’s a team that demonstrates a character, a spirit of overcoming, it’s very beautiful and admirable, we have to learn from it.
‘But I think the way Spain play… it’s very automated, the way they play is very automated, it’s what you have to do every time in every phase, no hurry, they play the ball with speed, they run the game, they cool the game with possession.’
The final is creating plenty of debate, with Chris Sutton landing somewhere in between Ronaldo and Hart, backing Spain but only just.
‘The first goal is going to be absolutely crucial and maybe it will be another magic Messi moment that gives his team the lead, and some hope,’ Sutton told the BBC. ‘But, whatever happens, Spain will dominate the ball – they just will.
‘For different reasons, I love watching both teams play. Argentina will bring chaos but Spain will bring calm… and calmness will win the day.’