Luis de la Fuente has told the story of the first time he encountered Lionel Messi — and it ended with the 16‑year‑old scoring four goals in 15 minutes. The Spain manager, preparing for Sunday’s World Cup final against Argentina in New Jersey, recalled the 2004 under‑19 cup tie between Sevilla and Barcelona. “We put a man‑marker on him,” he said. “In the 70th minute it was 0‑0. When they gave a yellow card to the player who was marking him, I took him off. And in 15 minutes, Messi scored four goals.” Despite that memory, De la Fuente confirmed he would not man‑mark Messi in the final. “Does that mean we are going to man mark him? No,” he said. “Does it mean we will pay close attention to him? Yes, but in exactly the same way that they are going to have to pay attention to our players.”
De la Fuente and Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni share a bond that goes back to 2017, when Scaloni studied for his Uefa Pro Licence and De la Fuente taught the technique module. “He gave us an enormous hand,” Scaloni has said. Both men became national coaches after periods of drifting away from football; neither has managed a top‑flight club. De la Fuente is bidding to become a World Cup winner and European champion simultaneously, while Scaloni is 90 minutes from defending the title he won in 2022.
“Spain boss recalls Messi's four-goal burst ahead of World Cup final against Argentina.”
Meanwhile, England fans turned on Thomas Tuchel before the third‑place play‑off against France in Miami. Tuchel’s name was booed when read out by the stadium announcer, a backlash after England’s semi‑final defeat to Argentina. Tuchel questioned whether the mood was “split” and insisted he wanted to carry on, but the harsh reality is that the fans have put the defeat on him. England could finish third for their best ever World Cup performance on foreign soil.
Messi, who has eight goals and four assists in the tournament, will lead Argentina against a Spain side that includes Lamine Yamal. De la Fuente compared the teenager favourably to Messi: “Messi can never be repeated. He is an extraordinary talent.” The two teams meet in what De la Fuente called “a game of talent, brilliance, great play”. The teacher against the student. The world against its champion.