Key events1h agoWorld Cup Daily2h agoDe la Fuente on the victory3h agoPreambleTo return to the Spanish defence, though, Pau Cubarsi – what a player. I wonder whether, at some point, his relative lack of physicality costs him, but his nous, composure and ability on the ball are exceptional. Generally speaking, centre-backs break through later than players in any other position, so for him to be starting for champion sides, Barcelona and Spain, at 19 having debuted at 16, is extraordinary.Here’s David Hytner’s match report…“One goal conceded was it?” asks Gary Naylor. “The best defences tend to win trophies.”Previous Spain trophy-winners had great defensive records too, but those, I’d argue, were the consequence of the greatest midfield ever – Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta – with Xabi Alonso added to it and sometimes Cesc Fàbregas as well – denying the opposition possession, especially in dangerous areas. And of course that’s still the principal aim, it’s just that the players aren’t quite as good in this era; the defensive record is as it is as much because Porro-Cubarsi-Laporte-Cucurella is a terrific back four in its own right.Tell you what, bet there’s some regret among that England squad having watched that final. A tiny soupçon of courage – which sounds like a oxymoron but in this case is not, so minute is the amount about which we’re talking – was all it took to stop them losing to a side they ought really to have beaten with something to spare, and they were incapable of finding it. The players will, I imagine, be feeling extremely poorly with it and rightly so – but is the manager still blaming them, or will he have gone under the duvet when the night got dark and accepted his role, first in creating the environment, then making the changes largely responsibly for the subsidence?Ed Aarons was on player ratings…Is there a number less than zero to describe Argentina’s collective effort?And the match in pictures…Let’s begin by reliving the great Rob Smyth’s MBM report…Thanks Jo and, for the last time – sniff, snivel – greetings greetings one and all. “Dizguzting” – emphasis mine – is exactly the word I used to describe this abomination to my wife, with particular reference to Argentina spending the first 117 minutes of the final taking a grand total of zero shots at goal – far fewer than the cheap shots they took at the Spanish players. The trophy has gone to the correct place, so I guess we can sort of celebrate that – and, of course, a tournament which, though it phutted at the end, was a ridiculous amount of fun, love and joy. Please feel free to send in your analysis, reflections, best, worst and all of that. It’s over, but it’s in us.World Cup DailyI’ll leave you with the latest episode from the team at World Cup Daily. Daniel Harris will be here take you through the rest of the news from the final.And “it was a disgusting final,” according to Jonathan Wilson.