Supercomputer predicts winner of Spain vs Argentina in World Cup showdown
Spain and Argentina will face off in the World Cup final on Sunday, with the Opta supercomputer predicting a Spain victory, giving La Roja a 45.1% chance of winning in regulation time
Lionel Messi celebrating after last week’s England victory (Image: Getty)
Fresh from their 2-0 triumph over pre-tournament favourites France in the semi-finals, Luis de la Fuente’s Spain are heading into Sunday’s World Cup final as the team to beat, according to a supercomputer’s predictions. Lying in wait at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium will be the defending champions, Argentina.
As the clash approaches, predictive data has tipped La Roja for success. The Opta supercomputer estimates a 45.1 per cent likelihood that Spain will secure their second World Cup title within normal time.
In contrast, the algorithm gives Argentina only a 29.4 per cent chance of clinching victory in 90 minutes. Moreover, the data suggests there is a 25.4 per cent chance the match will extend into extra time or be settled by a penalty shootout.
The World Cup final will take place today (Sunday, July 19)(Image: Jordan Bank – FIFA, FIFA via Getty Images)
In line with the supercomputer’s forecast, bookmakers have also pegged the Spanish squad as the slight betting favourites to lift football’s most coveted trophy.
Following the defeat of Les Bleus, Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri said: “I’m very proud of my team and what it represents for us. Now it’s time to rest because we probably have the most important match of our lives on Sunday.”, reports the Express.
“We all needed each other. I had a lot of help in the midfield to control such a physical and aggressive team on second balls – I would say it was a very complete match.”
A Lionel Messi -inspired Argentina squeezed past England in their semi-final, staging a fightback to triumph 2-1 in the dying moments. Should Messi, as widely expected, feature against Spain, he will become just the second player, after Brazilian icon Cafu, to grace three World Cup finals, having appeared in both 2014 and 2022.
Rodri has spoken ahead of the final(Image: Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)
Victory over the Euro 2024 winners would also see the 39 year old become the first skipper to successfully defend the World Cup, following Argentina’s triumph against France in Qatar four years ago.
Looking back on the momentous victory over the Three Lions, Messi said: “It was a special match against England, we couldn’t lose. While this group doesn’t owe anything to anyone, you know how Argentinians are, we always demand more.. EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page. “I think if we had lost today, people would have come out and said some nonsense, and we didn’t give them the chance. We knew that we were better than them in terms of football.But a lot is at stake in a match of this magnitude, where historic events happen in these games, but it’s still special because of everything it represents, and we had to win”.
Messi added: “Everything we experienced was incredible, from the very beginning, as we said. Although it was a football match, when we started to enter the field and during the anthem, we experienced special feelings, and the group felt that.
“It wasn’t just another victory; it was an important victory that the Argentine people wanted, and we wanted it too, and it put us in another World Cup final. It’s crazy to play two World Cup finals in a row. This group is incredible.”
