New Delhi: Spain's complete domination, airtight defence and relentless pressing drew unanimous praise from India's former footballers, who said the European champions deserved the World Cup title after neutralising Lionel Messi and overpowering Argentina across 120 minutes.In what was seen as Messi's grand swansong, Spain's second-half substitute Ferran Torres scored in the extra time (106th minute) to deny Argentina back-to-back World Cup titles.Also Read: FIFA's golden goose and the billions behind the beautiful gameFormer India captain Victor Amalraj said Spain, who secured their second World Cup after 2010, completely controlled the final and could have won by a much bigger margin."Spain were outstanding, they completely dominated the final," said the 64-year-old former India midfielder, who played against a strong Argentina in the 1984 Nehru Cup in Kolkata.The Carlos Bilardo-coached strong Argentine side, with many players later winning the 1986 World Cup, had beaten India 1-0.He further hailed Emiliano Martinez's outstanding goalkeeping that prevented Spain from winning by a much bigger margin."Spain could have scored three goals but for the Argentina goalkeeper who was at his best."Argentina wanted to end the match goalless and go for the tie-break, but that did not click," he said.Amalraj said Spain's compact defence didn't allow Messi to play freely.Also Read: 'Thank you, India, once again': Argentina envoy thanks Indian fans after runners-up finish at FIFA World Cup 2026"Messi's performance was not up to the mark in the final. Spain completely blocked him. He must have touched the ball only a few times in the whole 120 minutes. He was not allowed to show his skills because the Spanish defence was so tight and there was no chance to penetrate. That is why Messi could not click in the final."Players representing their respective countries become emotional when they play in such big matches. The whole world was watching them. It was the same in the case of Maradona (in the 1990 final)," he said.Spain are now unbeaten in their last 38 matches -- 29 wins, nine draws -- eclipsing Italy's streak of 37 matches (28 wins, nine draws) from October 2018 through September 2021. Spain's possession game is global benchmark: Pal Former India goalkeeper Subrata Pal said Spain continue to dominate world football with their possession-based game, a style many countries try to emulate but few can replicate."Whenever Spain play, they dominate the match. If you look at ball possession, even when they lose the ball, they quickly regain it because that is their style of football."Every country in the world is trying to copy the Spanish formation and style of play, but it is very difficult. Only Spain can play like this. So definitely they are contenders for Euro 2028..."Calling Messi the world's best player, Pal said Spain's specific plan of double-marking him restricted his influence, underlining that football is ultimately a team game where even the greatest individual cannot win alone."He was always marked by two players. Whenever Argentina had the ball, they could not find Messi properly because Spain had prepared specifically to stop him, and they succeeded."There is no doubt Messi is the best, but you cannot win every time. Football is a team game," he said. Argentina looked tired: Aditi Luis de la Fuente's strategy of holding the ball and denying opponents any chances paid dividends.Former India women's football team captain Aditi Chauhan felt Argentina looked fatigued, struggled to retain possession and failed to build meaningful attacks."The better team won. Spain played dominant football throughout the match and deserved the victory."However, I expected a much stronger fight from Argentina. They looked tired, struggled to retain possession, and couldn't string together enough passes to build any meaningful attacks," she said. Argentina were outclassed: Bruno Former India captain and AIFF's Player-of-the-Year in 1996, Bruno Coutinho also echoed that Martinez prevented Argentina from losing by a bigger margin."Argentina's goalkeeper Martinez was the hero of the day. Otherwise, they would have been three or four goals down."Spain dominated possession throughout the game, and Argentina were outclassed," he said."Whenever Spain lost the ball, they won it back within seconds. Argentina, on the other hand, took time to regain possession," added Bruno. Rodri one-man show: Menezes Former India goalkeeper-turned-administrator Henry Menezes singled out Spain skipper Rodri for controlling the midfield, calling him a "one-man show."Rodri did not score or provide an assist during the tournament, but was central to Spain's possession-based style and control.The central defensive midfielder completed the most passes in the World Cup -- 753 at an impressive 94 per cent accuracy -- and was involved in 1,803 plays, nearly 200 more than any other player, according to FIFA statistics."All credit goes to Rodri for his defensive work. He was amazing there. He was a one-man show, really protecting the defence, winning the ball back and keeping possession," said Menezes."Spain deserved to win the World Cup. It has shown that youngsters can, if they keep their calm, maintain their composure, and keep their confidence high, beat the world leaders." Spain should have finished the game early: Pasha Former India player and current AIFF Technical Director Sabir Pasha echoed similar sentiments and said Spain should have killed the game early."No doubt about it. Spain were the better side in all the departments of the game. They really harassed Argentina. But I think, Spain should have finished the game off very early. Because of Spain's lack of quality inside the box, the game was dragged so long."Spain were doing better outside the box, that quality they should have showed inside the box. But later on, in the last stages when Nico William came in, the scenario changed and the substitutes brought in more spark."