Leandro Paredes vs Dani Olmo: the duel that could decide FIFA World Cup final | Football News

5 min readJul 18, 2026 07:34 PM The 91st minute of Argentina’s Round of 16 tie against Egypt. A two-goal deficit had been erased. As Lionel Scaloni would later say, his team could smell blood. Perhaps they smelled a little too much.
A rare Lionel Messi miss-pass led to an Egypt counter-attack. Omar Marmoush had one red shirt to his left, another to his right. Ahead of him, only one Argentine. Leandro Paredes.
Paredes glanced around for cover. There was none. The centre-backs had surged forward in search of a winner. One accurate pass, and Argentina would be heading home. Marmoush tried to lay a pass for Trezeguet on the left. Paredes had to nail his intervention.
He did.
Stretching out his right leg at precisely the right moment, he prevented what looked like a certain goal. Just 94 seconds later, Argentina scored the winner.

Paredes, the master of calculations, had done it again. He has been doing so since childhood.
When he was only seven, Ramón Maddoni — the same scout who discovered Carlos Tevez — told Paredes’ parents that their son was made for the big stage. Only, he had to be taken around the country for trials.
Myriam, his mother, would do so. She had a car. Only, she barely had money, working as a shoe repairer. Before Google Maps exed, mother and son would pore over paper maps, calculating the cheapest route: where tolls could be avoided, where fuel could be saved, every kilometre carefully calculated. Back home came a different calculation — whether the family could afford butter with their noodles.Story continues below this ad
Whether picking passes on a football pitch or plotting routes to dant stadiums, Paredes’ calculations were immaculate.
His decisions were not.
The move to join Boca Juniors over River Plate, just because he was a fan, wasn’t right. Neither was leaving for Italy, where he drifted between Roma, Chievo and Empoli without ever settling. It was Zenit Saint Petersburg that finally gave him prominence and, with the 2018 World Cup in Russia looming, genuine hope. “I’m sure the World Cup will be wonderful,” he even said.

It was not. Jorge Sampaoli left him out of the squad. Tears followed. Four years later, they came again.
then, Scaloni had made Paredes the fulcrum of Argentina’s midfield. But 25 days before Qatar 2022, he tore his hamstring. Alone in a bathroom, with the shower running so his wife and children would not hear him, he broke down. Scaloni kept his promise to take him regardless of his fitness, but the injury robbed him of his usual influence.Story continues below this ad
Not anymore. In this World Cup, he has been Argentina’s metronome. No player has attempted or completed more passes for the defending champions. None has completed more switches of play.
Hating stagnation with a passion, Paredes left Boca, the club of his dreams, at 19. Because he was competing with Juan Roman Riquelme, minutes were rare. He would sacrifice comfort for minutes.
Out of comfort zone
So would Dani Olmo. When he decided to leave the fabled La Masia for Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb at 16, Barcelona directors were found wanting for words. And logic.
It wasn’t that they wanted him gone. They simply told his representatives another prospect —South Korea’s Lee Seung-woo — was ahead of him in the pecking order, and hence, opportunities would be limited. A Barcelona contract was still on the table. For most teenagers, that would have been good enough.Story continues below this ad

Not for Olmo.
He decided to prioritise game-time instead. Dinamo president Mirko Barišić promised him a first-team place within a year. He also promised Olmo would one day surpass Luka Modrić as the club’s record sale. Both promises were fulfilled.
A price had to be paid for choosing Croatia. Olmo was not selected for Spain until he joined Germany’s RB Leipzig in 2019. He would not be a regular until 2021. Three years later, he was the joint-highest goal-scorer at a Euro that Spain won. At this World Cup, he leads La Roja in asss and big chances created.
At La Masia, his agent was infuriated when he was told Olmo was good enough to play only as a second fiddle. Per the agent, Olmo was the best — the club argued every agent would say that.Story continues below this ad
“We would see who was right in the end,” was the last sentence of the meeting.
A decade later, Barcelona signed him for €60 million.
A decade after leaving for playing time, Paredes returned to Boca Juniors, welcomed the very man whose presence had once blocked his path — Riquelme.
Two unusual journeys will converge at East Rutherford on Sunday. Whoever wins that duel may well decide who wins the World Cup.

Leandro Paredes for Argentina

Dani Olmo for Spain

Most passes attempted (521)

Most big chances created (3)

Most passes completed (496)

Joint-highest asss (2)

Joint-highest switches of play accuracy (100%)

Second in chances created (9)

Highest involvement (1027)

Second in ball progressions (19)