Spain defeats Argentina to win 2026 FIFA World Cup

After 104 matches between 48 total teams, Spain has emerged as the last country standing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, defeating Argentina 1-0 in the final held in East Rutherford, N.J. It wasn’t easy to put anything on the board, but Spain’s Ferran Torres pulled a better-late-than-never rabbit out of his hat in the 106th minute to pull off the victory as an extra-time winner. Argentina didn’t even get a shot at goal until the 117th minute and came up with several late opportunities, but failed to find the net to crush dreams of becoming the first team since Brazil in 1962 to go back-to-back. The result also likely marks the final World Cup for Argentina superstar Lionel Messi, who would finish his career ranked second all-time in goals at the event with 21, behind only France’s Kylian Mbappé with 22. At 39 years old, he was the first man to start in three World Cup finals, finishing with eight total goals in the tournament. “We are world champions,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said after the victory. “It was together we reached this stage.” As for the event itself, it was as star-studded as it gets, with celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Serena Williams, Patrick Mahomes and David Beckham among the names in attendance with Justin Bieber, Post Malone, Madonna, Shakira, BTS and Coldplay among performers. They were able to see Spain secure its second-ever World Cup title and continue its unbeaten streak of 38 straight games at (29-9-0), breaking a tie with Italy from 2018-21. Congratulations to Spain for now, but it’ll be the United States’ turn in 2030. (Just kidding, but we can at least pretend.) Join KSR Plus! With a KSR Plus membership, you get access to bonus content and KSBoard and House of Blue, the most vibrant message board communities in BBN, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.