Too Big a Difference in Quality? Argentina’s Toughest Opponent, Colombia, Only World No. 12; Spain Defeats Four of the Top Teams in the World

On July 15th, both the European Championship and the Copa America have come to an end. The Spanish national team lifted the European Championship trophy for the fourth time in their history, becoming the team with the most titles in the history of the European Championship. Argentina lifted the Copa America trophy for the sixteenth time in their history, becoming the team with the most titles in the history of the Copa America. However, looking at the journey to victory for both teams, one can see a stark difference in quality.

In Spain’s journey to victory, they defeated Croatia (world ranked No. 9) 3-0 in the group stage, Italy (world ranked No. 10) 1-0, Albania (world ranked No. 66) 1-0. In the Round of 16, they staged a comeback victory against Georgia (world ranked No. 74) 4-1. In the quarterfinals, after extra time, they defeated host Germany (world ranked No. 16) 2-1. In the semifinals, they staged a comeback victory against France (world ranked No. 2) 2-1. In the final, they defeated England (world ranked No. 5) 2-1. On Spain’s path to victory, they defeated four of the world’s top ten teams, making their triumph highly prestigious!

In Argentina’s journey to victory, they easily defeated Canada (world ranked No. 48) 2-0 in the group stage, Chile (world ranked No. 40) 1-0, Peru (world ranked No. 31) 2-0. In the quarterfinals, they eliminated Ecuador (world ranked No. 30) on penalties. In the semifinals, they defeated Canada (world ranked No. 48) 2-0 again. In the final, after extra time, they defeated Colombia (world ranked No. 12) 1-0. Argentina did not encounter any of the world’s top ten teams on their path to victory.