{"id":7765,"date":"2026-07-19T09:07:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T09:07:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7765"},"modified":"2026-07-19T09:07:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T09:07:49","slug":"with-nearly-700-passes-and-counting-a-spanish-star-quietly-dominated-this-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7765","title":{"rendered":"With nearly 700 passes and counting, a Spanish star quietly dominated this World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rodri controls the midfield with Spain. (Luke Hales\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

NEW YORK \u2014 Rodri hasn\u2019t found the net over seven games at this World Cup. Spain\u2019s captain doesn\u2019t have any assists, either. He has garnered a fraction of the headlines centered on Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbapp\u00e9, Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham. Even if we\u2019re talking Spanish stars, the conversation will inevitably veer toward teen phenom Lamine Yamal.<\/p>

Read more Mamdani says he is looking into whether he can order Netanyahu\u2019s arrest<\/a><\/p>\n

Yet there\u2019s a case to be made that Rodri has been more influential than any other player over the past month-plus. The ball-circulating metronome at the base of Spain\u2019s midfield, Rodri has already set a World Cup record with 694 passes completed. Lest you think he\u2019s playing it safe, Rodri also leads the tournament with 106 line-breaking passes \u2014 riskier balls that unlock the opposition. In Tuesday\u2019s 2-0 win over France, he won 11 duels \u2014 technical fights for 50-50 balls \u2014 nearly twice as many as any other player.<\/p>\n

As that semifinal triumph exemplified, a fully stocked arsenal of attacking talent \u2014 as Les Bleus boasted \u2014 isn\u2019t worth much when the other side can control the game with ruthless efficiency.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about the midfield,\u201d Rodri said, \u201cespecially in modern football.\u201d<\/p>\n

That premise will be put to the ultimate test when Rodri leads Spain against Argentina in the World Cup final Sunday afternoon in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Argentines are in position to defend their title thanks to Messi\u2019s game-breaking brilliance and a flair for the dramatic<\/a>. Spain has had its fair share of the latter, ousting both Portugal and Belgium on last-gasp Mikel Merino strikes. But La Roja has taken a more methodical route to the title game, conceding just one goal over seven matches while stretching its overall unbeaten run to a record-tying 37 games.<\/p>\n

Although there are traces of the short-passing \u201ctiki-taka\u201d approach that defined the Spanish dynasty of 2008-2012, when La Roja won a World Cup and two European Championships, this team also knows when to be proactive and pragmatic. There\u2019s patience in possession, but also undeniable dynamism. Running point is Rodri, whose ability to read the game, set the tempo and spray passes has unsettled one heralded opponent after another.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what sort of brand of football we have,\u201d Rodri said. \u201cThere is no defined style for our team. There are different stages in a match, and I don\u2019t think all the matches are the same. I don\u2019t think you\u2019ve seen the same Spain across all the matches.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a very complete team,\u201d he added, \u201cand that is why we are here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Kylian Mbappe of France reacts after the 0-2 loss to Rodri and Spain in the semifinals. (David Ramos\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Born Rodrigo Hern\u00e1ndez Cascante, the 30-year-old Madrid native has spent the past seven seasons anchoring a Manchester City team that has won four English Premier League titles and a UEFA Champions League crown. Rodri was named the top player of Euro 2024 as Spain re-announced itself as a global power and claimed its fourth continental title.<\/p>\n

That October, he won the Ballon d\u2019Or as the world player of the year. But he hobbled to the stage to accept that prize on crutches after tearing the ACL in his right knee a month earlier. Although Rodri returned to the field that following May, Manchester City Manager Pep Guardiola measured expectations with a prophetic prediction early in the 2025-26 Premier League season.<\/p>

Read more Nearly half of Americans in poll say Supreme Court bases rulings on politics<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI told Rodri that it\u2019s not a six- or seven-month story,\u201d Guardiola said in October. \u201cIt\u2019s not: \u2018I come back, I play, and I become the Rodri of before.\u2019 No, the real Rodri, we\u2019ll see him at the 2026 World Cup with Spain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodri\u2019s World Cup impact wasn\u2019t immediate. When Spain opened the tournament with a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde, Rodri absorbed outsize criticism for the stagnant performance \u2014 a narrative that Spain Coach Luis de la Fuente promptly lambasted as \u201cincredibly insulting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRodri is the best player in the world,\u201d de la Fuente said. \u201cEven at 50 percent, he is better than most other midfielders in the world. He brings clarity, vision, balance. Rodri is an inspiration for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sure enough, Rodri found a rhythm in group stage victories over Saudi Arabia and Uruguay. By the time Spain swept aside Austria in the round of 32, it was clear Guardiola\u2019s premonition was coming to fruition. With each elimination of an imposing contender \u2014 Portugal, Belgium, France \u2014 came another Rodri master class.<\/p>\n

That said, you do have to squint to find Rodri in the highlights. He didn\u2019t ascend in stardom over the past month thanks to clever quotes or endearing social media posts. His name didn\u2019t come up in many conversations about the Golden Ball, awarded to the tournament\u2019s top player, until the past few days. Yet he could be the man lifting the World Cup trophy Sunday in an instantly immortalized image.<\/p>\n

So what does Rodri make of the swelling noise?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019ve heard many things,\u201d Rodri said. \u201cI\u2019ve heard that at the beginning of the tournament I wasn\u2019t able to play. Now that I\u2019ve recovered my shape, I try not to listen too much. I\u2019m just always confident in myself.\u201d<\/p>

Read more The World Cup halftime show\u2019s goals: Go fast and keep off the grass<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rodri, the game-controlling defensive midfielder, will lead La Roja against Lionel Messi’s Argentina in Sunday’s final.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nWith nearly 700 passes and counting, a Spanish star quietly dominated this World Cup - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7765\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"With nearly 700 passes and counting, a Spanish star quietly dominated this World Cup - 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