Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira en BTS waren door de FIFA binnengehaald voor de eerste halftime-show in de geschiedenis van het WK voetbal. Er bleeft weinig hangen.

Argentinië-middenvelder Leandro Paredes laat zich na het laatste fluitsignaal volledig gaan. Uit frustratie duwt hij een paar Spanjaarden omver in de middencirkel.

Argentina tried to kill the spectacle and make it a physical battle but Spain refused to take the bait and kept passing

A worrying thought as a tepid first half drew to a close: was the half-time show going to be better than the football? This was a slog. Argentina could not match Spain’s possession approach but they had ways to level the playing field. There was physicality from Lionel Scaloni’s side, whose aim was to kill the spectacle before taking control in the second half, and they were allowed to take it to the limit by the Slovenian referee, Slavko Vincic. Alexis Mac Allister could have been booked for an early foul on Dani Olmo and the leniency, together with a pitch not conducive to playing flowing football, allowed Argentina to disrupt Spain’s passing game, creating the conditions for one of the most tedious World Cup finals.

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Rodri looks back to his imperious best in Spain’s midfield while Enzo Fernández has day to forget for Argentina

Unai Simón Was alert to clear danger after Cubarsí’s early mistake. Otherwise could have brought his slippers. 7

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BBC scored a late goal in head-to-head with ITV over the World Cup by being in the stadium for the final

“I thought it was crap,” Wayne Rooney surmised on BBC after enduring the half-time show. Amid a tense final, the interval was always going to be prominent, theoretically bringing light to the shade. Why the two UK broadcasters felt the need to transmit the karaoke session in full we will never know but at least the pundits struggled through it, too.

Ally McCoist said it had “mentally scarred” him as someone in attendance, unlike many of his ITV colleagues who were sat in Brooklyn. The studio has rightly earned them kudos, creating a home alongside the Hudson River with the Brooklyn Bridge providing the dramatic backdrop. With the game only an expensive train ride away, it was a surprise to see Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Ian Wright in familiar surroundings.

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It was the triumph of an idea, an identity. Of an unshakable and patient faith in it. And when it was over, Spain’s new generation having emulated the one from the 2010 World Cup, all of those legendary names, there was simply delirium for them.

Spain were the only team that turned up to play this World Cup final, Argentina damned by their lack of ambition – even before they had Enzo Fernández sent off towards the end of the regulation time. It was utterly extraordinary that the defending champions barely mustered an attempt on goal.

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Ian & Marg has added a photo to the pool: