Spain will play Argentina in the Fifa World Cup final on Sunday. The highly anticipated match takes place in New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, with the teams vying for the most coveted prize in football.

Attacking flair and physicality will no doubt play a role. But we could also see an underappreciated element of football come to the fore: geometry.

In their 2-0 World Cup semi-final win over France, Spain formed neat passing triangles around the French players. This sometimes made it look as if Spain had extra people on the field.

Wherever a Spanish player received the ball, two teammates appeared at different angles – with their French opponents seemingly always arriving a fraction too late.

The triangle mattered not because it was neat, but because it gave Spain choice and France uncertainty. Each pass forced a French defender to commit to one possible future: press the ball, block the inside route, or protect the space behind. By the time that choice was made, the ball had often moved and the geometry had changed again.

Spain were not simply finding space. They were controlling when and where the next space would appear.

Put three attackers in a straight line and one defender can often block both supporting players. But move one supporting player sideways and the........

© The Conversation