Spain crowned world champions with 1-0 extra-time win over Argentina in the final

MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency Monday, July 20th 2026 - 00:47 UTC Photo: EPA/EFE/RONALD WITTEK Spain were crowned world champions for the second time in their history by beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time in the final played on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The winning goal came in the 106th minute, after a cross from Pedro Porro that Nico Williams headed on and that, according to the match report, Ferran Torres finished to settle a game clearly dominated by the Spanish side. The run of play reflected Spain's superiority, with 68% possession and twenty shots, eleven of them on target, against Argentina's three attempts, none on goal. The defending champions, who had reached the final hoping to repeat their Qatar 2022 triumph, barely troubled goalkeeper Unai Simón and sat back for much of the match. The game had two decisive incidents. In the second half, the referee disallowed a Spanish goal for a foul flagged earlier in the move, with the score at 0-0. Near the end of regulation time, Argentina's Enzo Fernández was sent off for a second bookable offense after a hard challenge on Spanish defender Pau Cubarsí, leaving Argentina with ten players for extra time. The South American side finished the match with five bookings and one dismissal. With this result, Spain claim their second World Cup, sixteen years after the one won in South Africa in 2010, when they beat the Netherlands, also in extra time, through a goal by Andrés Iniesta. The title adds to Euro 2024 and cements the generation led by coach Luis de la Fuente, who called for the achievement to be “valued.” Midfielder Rodri was named the tournament's best player. “Destiny was written. Every final is difficult, we had Messi in front of us, but we have always relied on ourselves, playing our game,” Ferran Torres said after the match. For Argentina, the defeat dashed their bid to become the first national team to win two consecutive World Cups since Brazil, champions in 1958 and 1962. The final closed a World Cup hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, whose decisive stages were played on US soil. The tournament was marked, in its closing stretch, by the controversy surrounding Argentina, after its players displayed a banner about the Falklands following the semifinal against England, an episode FIFA is assessing for a possible breach of rules barring political messages. Argentina played the final while awaiting that decision.