Spain are men’s world champions for a second time. And, as you may have predicted following another unerring victory over Argentina in the final on Sunday, they made it through the 2026 World Cup having taken more touches, completed more passes and attempted more shots than any other side along the way.But perhaps a less celebrated aspect of their approach is a commitment to the grittier side of the game. That also shines through in the statistics: no team recovered possession more often in the attacking third or allowed their opponents less time on the ball than Luis de la Fuente’s defensively disciplined side, pressing high and nicking the ball whenever they could.Patient possession and free-flowing football spring to mind when you think of Spain, but equally critical to their consistent domination of World Cup games over the past month-plus has been a desire to win the ball straight back whenever a pass goes astray. In possession, Spain dictate the tempo, move the opposition from side to side and force them deeper and deeper as they try to protect their goal. Without it, they snap straight into tackles to keep that pressure on.Spain defeats Argentina to win the World CupDavid Ornstein and Lia GriffinThat is exactly how they penned Argentina in from minute one yesterday, defending from the front and keeping Lionel Messi and company far away from their goal. The defending world champions played for 116 minutes before they managed a shot. They had only two over the two hours of football.As we can see from the territory plot below, where the pitch is shaded in favour of the team who controlled more possession per area of the turf, Spain restricted Argentina to a pocket of space down the right, where Lionel Messi and overlapping full-backs would occasionally combine after long passes out to the flank.Otherwise, the only area of the pitch Argentina truly commanded with the ball was their own penalty area, where goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez took 21 touches in the safety of his six-yard box after goal kicks.Spain sought to manage the flow of the game from the start, encouraging their defenders to push high whenever they had the ball. That helped to compress the space in the opposition half, meaning Spanish players were close to one another to combine with quick passes, but also able to seize on the ball whenever it ran loose. Even when their high line was briefly compromised with surging Argentine runs forward on the break, sweeper-’keeper Unai Simon was alert to cover the space they left in behind.Here on five minutes, for example, Spain lose possession, and their deepest defenders are momentarily caught up the pitch. But even as Messi looks to be set through on goal, Simon appears from nowhere to intercept the through ball, helping to keep his team on the front foot after an early scare. De la Fuente’s faith in Simon was questioned before the tournament, particularly given David Raya’s stellar form last season for Arsenal.