Let me start with a small victory lap, because I've earned this one. Back at the beginning of the World Cup, when everyone was talking about Argentina and Messi, I said Spain would lift the trophy. The final proved me right — and it proved why I thought so.

Argentina versus Spain was a great game. Genuinely great. But across those 120 minutes, one team looked like it was playing as a single unit, and that team was Spain. They were the better side — not by luck, not by a moment, but by design.

Here's the thing our ELO model can't see, and it's exactly why I backed Spain months ago: communication. The way Spain move as a team, the understanding between the players, the constant talking and shifting and covering for each other — that's not something you can put into a rating number. The model saw Argentina's individual quality and made them favourites. I watched how Spain played together, and I trusted that instead.

That's the difference between a model and a person watching football. The numbers give you a snapshot of strength. But football is played by eleven people who have to understand each other, and Spain understood each other better than anyone in this tournament. When the pressure came in the final, that understanding is what held.

Argentina were worthy of the final. Messi was Messi. But Spain were the complete team, and complete teams win World Cups. I said it in June, and I'll happily say it again now with the trophy in Spanish hands.

On to the Premier League — where I've got a few more opinions the model won't like.