Spain won their second World Cup title after Ferran Torres’ 106th-minute smashed finish earned a 1-0 win against defending champions Argentina in the 2026 final.
Spain were deserved winners. Torres scored with Spain’s 20th shot while the game ended without Argentina registering a single shot on target.
Lionel Messi touched the ball just 54 times in a match that took more than two hours to complete and featured a 27-minute half-time break.
Spain’s win had shades of their maiden victory in 2010 too, scoring in the second period of extra time after a goalless 90 minutes. Then, it was Andres Iniesta against the Netherlands – now another Barcelona player, Torres, adds his name to the history books.
A nod back from fellow substitute Nico Williams saw the former Manchester City forward storm on to the ball and fire past Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez. It came minutes after Williams had an initial strike ruled out for an alleged Mikel Merino foul on Nicolas Otamendi.
Argentina did keep their shape well as Spain applied consistent pressure – especially after Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez was sent off for a reckless second yellow at the end of normal time – and relied on Martinez to make a string of saves.
Their only threat emerged in added-on time at the end of extra time with Giuliano Simeone blazing over a shot that could have sent the game to penalties.
But there was no fairytale end to Messi’s expected final World Cup appearance, with the Argentina skipper anonymous for much of the game with his team unable to get hold of the ball. He was also beaten to his first World Cup Golden Boot by France’s Kylian Mbappe, who won it by two goals.
Spain remain undefeated under manager Luis de la Fuente in tournament matches and add a World Cup win to their Euros title from 2024. It has been quite the tournament from an opening draw to Cape Verde to making France and Argentina look like average teams.
- FIFA World Cup: Spain hits late winner to crush Ronaldo’s World Cup dreams
- FIFA World Cup: England defeats France to secure third place in spectacular goalfest
Paredes and Molina involved in angry scenes after full-time
There were unsavoury scenes at full-time as Leandro Paredes and Nahuel Molina looked to strike out at the celebrating Spain players after Argentina’s defeat.
Molina threw out an elbow and caught Rodri, while Paredes appeared to kick Eric Garcia to the floor and pushed him back with a strong hand around his neck when the Spaniard got back to his feet to confront him.
A Spain substitute was then held back by another Argentina player, before Paredes came in, ripped his bib and swung for him twice, catching him in the face.
Paredes, who came on at half-time, was booked within minutes of coming on and escaped a number of other yellow card offenses. He was eventually sent off in the aftermath of the post-match hostilities.
