Luis de la Fuente, Spain's head coach, has confirmed his side will not use man-marking to try to stop Lionel Messi in Sunday's World Cup final in New Jersey, despite Argentina's captain scoring eight goals and providing four assists in the tournament. He recounted his own experience of the tactic backfiring 22 years ago, when as Sevilla's youth coach he faced a 16-year-old Messi at Barcelona; taking off the man-marker in a Copa del Rey youth game led to Messi scoring four goals in 15 minutes. The anecdote underscores why De la Fuente is instead promising close but conventional attention on Messi rather than a dedicated shadow.

De la Fuente also praised Argentina, rejecting any characterisation of them as a "dirty team" and expressing admiration for their recent trophy haul, including the 2021 and 2024 Copa América titles, the World Cup, and the Finalissima. He dismissed the notion that the final was "all or nothing", saying simply reaching the position to win mattered, and criticised a chaotic pre-match Fifa event in Manhattan, at which he struggled to be heard over cheers for Messi, calling for more respect. He noted his only real worry was the helicopter journeys Fifa required between New Jersey and Manhattan for the event.