L'Équipe: De la Fuente once taught at the Spanish Football Federation, and Scaloni was one of his students.

According to L'Equipe, Spain's head coach De la Fuente, who previously taught at the Spanish Football Federation, will face his student Scaloni in the World Cup final.

Spain and Argentina will clash in the World Cup final, and the competition isn't just about the players; the coaching duel is equally noteworthy. Beyond tactics, the two managers will also clash over their respective football philosophies, as they are very familiar with each other. Back in 2017, De la Fuente had been coaching Spain's U19 team since 2013 and was also responsible for training future coaches at the Royal Spanish Football Federation.

"Mr. De la Fuente was the one who taught me coaching," Scaloni told The Athletic. De la Fuente, who had coached Xavi and Xabi Alonso, was also impressed with Scaloni. The 60-something Spanish coach recalled that the atmosphere was "like in school," and he became one of the mentors to his future World Cup final opponent.

Scaloni said, "De la Fuente has helped all the young people involved in the project; he's a great guy. I admire his way of expressing himself, his attitude, and the respect the players have for him." Besides the Argentine coach, De la Fuente has also mentored many renowned coaches and former players, including Spanish women's national team coach Montserrat Tome, 2025 European Championship runner-up coach Javi Hernandez, 2023 La Liga champion Javi Hernandez, Xabi Alonso who led Bayer Leverkusen to the Bundesliga title in 2024, as well as Raul, Valdes, Riera, and others.

When referring to his Argentine counterpart, De la Fuente calls him "Leo." He has always been deeply impressed by Scaloni. In an interview with The Guardian last June, De la Fuente said, "Today we can easily say Scaloni is different, but some people are just naturally more special. He had that restlessness, that way of challenging you, saying 'I don't see it that way.' Scaloni wanted to argue about everything, to discuss everything." In any case, this student, who has already won a World Cup, still has the opportunity to surpass his teacher once again. The answer will be revealed at 9 PM on Sunday.