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Three nations, one sofa as family split for final

Stuart HarrattEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
Herraiz family A man and a woman stand side by side holding their country's flags. The man has short dark hair and a beard and is wearing a grey top. He is holding the blue and white flag of Argentina, which is draped over his shoulder. Maria has shoulder-length hair and is wearing a yellow patterned shirt. She is holding the red and yellow flag of Spain.Herraiz family
Andres Roco and Maria Herraiz will be supporting their home countries

When Spain face Argentina in the World Cup final, the atmosphere is likely to be just as tense at a home in Lincolnshire as it is in the New York New Jersey stadium.

Maria Herraiz, who was born in Madrid, will be watching the game with her Argentinian husband Andres Roco on Sunday.

The couple, who run a delicatessen in Lincoln, said they would be supporting their home countries, with Maria confident La Roja (the Reds) will prevail.

Andres said a further complication was that their three children "support England as they were born here".

"We are so divided, we've got three countries," he added.

Argentina knocked out England in a bad-tempered semi-final on Wednesday and Maria said customers at their Burton Road shop "were all supporting Spain".

Their deli, Nonna Juana, blends Spanish and Argentinian cuisines, but when it comes to football, the rivalries remain.

Reflecting on her family's mixed loyalties, Maria told BBC Radio Lincolnshire that, whatever the result, she would be "happy either way, but I still want Spain to win".

Andres, who has spent time living in Spain, said his loyalties were "60-40", but "I'm Argentina".

Getty Images A male footballer shouts in joy while flinging his right arm across his chest in celebration. He is wearing a white shirt with red and yellow trim and standing in a football stadium with green grass. Other players can be seen out of focus behind him.Getty Images
Spain will go into the final as slight favourites after beating France in the semi-final, with Pedro Porro among the scorers

With Spain boasting the tournament's most miserly defence and Argentina one of the best forward lines, the couple could well be facing an epic evening of football before discovering who will have bragging rights.

But busy business owner Maria joked that one of the challenges would be "staying awake" as she "normally passed out at about 8 o'clock".

Still, she is confident Spain will prevail, predicting a 3-1 victory for the European champions.

Watch Spain v Argentina live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday from 19:00 BST with kick off at 20:00.

Listen to highlights fromLincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch thelatest episode of Look North.

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