Spain are world champions again as Torres shatters Messi’s farewell dream
Spain are world champions again
A substitute’s extra-time strike at MetLife Stadium ends Argentina’s reign and gives Spain their second World Cup title, sixteen years after the first
By Martin Weche
Spain defeated defending champions Argentina 1-0 in extra time at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Sunday, winning the 2026 FIFA World Cup when substitute Ferran Torres buried a rebound in the 106th minute to claim the sport’s greatest prize for the second time in the nation’s history.
The goal — Torres pouncing on a bouncing ball inside the box before driving his left foot through it and into the roof of the net — came in the opening moments of the second period of extra time, and it proved to be the only moment of the 120 minutes that separated the two sides. It was, by any measure, a goal that Argentina’s goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez had no answer for — though he had denied Spain repeatedly across a match in which Spain was in control throughout, not allowing a single shot on goal by Argentina.
The victory marked Spain’s 38th consecutive match without defeat, a run that includes their triumph at the 2024 European Championship. It is, by any statistical measure, one of the most dominant sustained periods in the history of international football. Spain also became the first World Cup champion in history to concede only one goal throughout an entire tournament.
Torres, who had entered the field as a second-half substitute and had gone the entire tournament without finding the net before Sunday, was understandably emotional at the final whistle. “I think in the end the goal belongs to 47 million people, not to me,” he told reporters. “Destiny was written, it was made for us to win. All finals are difficult, but when you have Messi on the opposing team, that nervousness always sets in — but we depended on ourselves and we proved it once again.”
The night belonged to Spain, but the stadium’s gaze kept returning to Argentina’s Lionel Messi. A star-studded crowd of 80,663, including United States President Donald Trump, had packed MetLife Stadium in hope of seeing Messi crown his career with a second World Cup title. At 39, Messi has confirmed this would be his final World Cup, as he will be 43 years old by the time the 2030 tournament arrives. When the final whistle sounded, the Argentine captain, who had carried his country through sixteen extraordinary years on the world stage, wept openly on the pitch.
The match itself was a study in frustrated dominance. Spain outshooting Argentina 20-3 across the contest, yet found themselves unable to convert chance after chance through ninety minutes of regulation. Martínez finished with 11 saves — the most ever recorded by a goalkeeper in a men’s World Cup final. The pivotal disciplinary moment arrived late in regulation when Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernández was dismissed after picking up his second yellow card, leaving Argentina to defend extra time with ten men. Spain exploited the numerical advantage within minutes.
The individual awards confirmed Spain’s collective supremacy. Rodri claimed the Golden Ball as the tournament’s outstanding player, Unai Simón took the Golden Glove, and defender Pau Cubarsí was named best young player. France’s Kylian Mbappé, tournament top scorer, claimed the Golden Boot — becoming the first player in history to win the award twice.
The tournament, the first to feature 48 nations across 104 matches, brought an estimated 1.2 million international visitors to the United States, Canada and Mexico, with approximately 1.5 billion people watching the final globally. It was football at its most expansive — and Spain, disciplined, inventive and utterly relentless, were its worthy masters.
Sixteen years ago, Andrés Iniesta’s extra-time winner in Johannesburg gave Spain the World Cup for the first time. On Sunday in New Jersey, it was Torres who inherited that moment. Different man, same eternity.
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