PLAYER RATINGS ARG: Scaloni’s cowardly tactics and shameful kickboxing, Messi deserved much more

That early save, denying Yamal a clear-cut chance, surely did wonders for both his confidence and Argentina's calm. Not even Oyarzabal's volley could hurt him. Ferran Torres' second-half, close-range header ended up in his gloves, too. Cubarsi, Pedri and Laporte followed. Martinez was Argentina's guardian angel, taking them singlehandedly to extra time by stopping Yamal's stoppage-time free kick. The only player who lived up to expectations in Lionel Scaloni’s lot. He deserves applause. We can't blame him for that Torress' goal, that effort was just too good. His masterclass continued in extra time, as he stunned Nico Williams with another brutal save.

That first-half clear, but hard tackle on Cucurella after his flary dribbling made quite a statement. Same rivals met again ten minutes into the second hafl, and again Montiel won it - his perfect clearance saved Argentina. For some reason, Scaloni took him off just a minute later.

Struggled and suffered on that left-hand side, faced with relentless Yamal. The difference in quality was palpable, but he actually did his work better than expected.

Absolutely perfect opening quarter for Lisandro. Won several duels, boosted the team's morale. And then the horror unfolded - he was booked for a foul on Oyarzabal, suffering a hamstring injury at it. Had to go off in the dying minutes of the first half.

We’re not sure if he was injured, but for some reason, Scaloni took him off at some point in the second half, completely replacing his usual centre-backs. Until then, Romero was decent enough, calmly handling Oyarzabal.

Focused completely on defending, like the rest of the Albiceleste squad, he went further back following Enzo Fernández’s expulsion. For a player of such ilk, a Liverpool star, simply not enough.

Being passionate and bad-tempered is legit; being reckless and dirty is just unacceptable. After 90 minutes of a lacklustre performance, the Chelsea midfielder made a horrible tackle on Cubarsi, earning a much-deserved second yellow card, leaving his teammates on their own ahead of extra time.

The experiment failed. Scaloni’s idea was to exploit that left flank, just like he did against England with Nico Gonzales. Then, it was a game-changer; tonight, it simply didn’t work. Stayed in the locker room after the break.

What to say about the guy who spent 70 minutes on the pitch without making any impact? Both offensively and defensively. He was supposed to be the glue-guy, but couldn’t prove that in the New Jersey sun.

A sad end for one of the greatest ever. He walked and ran without the ball endlessly, but that’s Messi - he needs the ball, not to be isolated. Unlike the previous WC final against France, there wasn’t a free square meter of space for him to play another symphony for us. Silent, disappointed and with his gloomy view after the final whistle, Messi perfectly encapsulates the levels of this tragedy for Argentina. He just couldn’t do it alone.

A victim of his team’s tactic or whatever, but this has been one of Julian Alvarez’s worst games. Absolutely nothing from the former Manchester City striker. He ran a lot and did his part of defensive activities and that was it. Below par.

Came on for injured Lisandro Martinez, and did his job properly, but will probably be remembered for that collision with Merino. If it wasn’t for Otamendi’s acting skills, Argentina would have conceded that extra-time goal even sooner.

Strange display of his. Came on at half-time to help that injury-prone back-line, but his aggressiveness was just over the top. He was booked almost instantly and kept flirting with the red card throughout the second half and extra time. He should try as a wrestler or MMA fighter, the ball is never in his sight.

We’re still not sure what Scaloni wanted with that rotation, as Montiel was more than accurate and fearless. Molina’s presence didn’t change much, at least not when it mattered the most. He could only watch Williams and Torres teaming up for the winner.

He was brought on to defend, to drag them to penalties, but take a look at the scoreboard. One of Argentina’s numerous defenders who couldn’t prevent the inevitable.

What if, what if… a tragic hero, for sure. Diego Simeone’s son first forgot to mark Ferran Torres for Spain’s winner, and then missed that late sitter in the moments of the second extra time. A night to forget, but it will haunt him for the rest of his life.

Not enough time spent on the pitch, nor could he make any impact after coming on in extra time.

Cowardly, shameful, below expectations and his previous achievements. His entire tactic was to “kill” the game and somehow get to a penalty shootout. There’s no excuse for such dirty, anti-football Argentina demonstrated in this showdown. And he’s the one to blame for it entirely. He desperately needed Lautaro after conceding that goal, but he had already made all of his substitutions. His tutor, De la Fuente, taught him a lesson on what a World Cup-winning coach should look like. Not in terms of physical appearance, but in terms of his coaching approach. This will be a massive stain on Scaloni’s until-now brilliant career.