Spain won its second World Cup title Today, defeating Argentina 1-0 in extra time behind a Ferran Torres strike in the 106th minute, capping a tense, largely goalless final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Spain dominated possession and shot totals throughout, but Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez kept the match scoreless deep into extra time with a record setting 11 saves, the most ever in a World Cup final.
Spain are #FIFAWorldCup Champions. đ pic.twitter.com/mWLw5iis2C
â FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 19, 2026
The breakthrough finally came less than a minute into the second period of extra time. Pedro Porro lofted a ball toward the back post, where Nico Williams beat Argentine defender Nahuel Molina to a header and redirected it back across goal. With Martinez already committed toward Williams, Torres was left with an open net for a clinical, close range finish that proved to be the difference. The win extended Spainâs unbeaten run to 38 matches over more than two years and delivered the countryâs first World Cup title since 2010, completing a rare Euro and World Cup double under coach Luis de la Fuente.
A brutal test of endurance over spectacle
For long stretches, the match bore little resemblance to the free flowing soccer that had defined much of the tournament. Argentina failed to register a single shot through the entirety of regulation, eventually finishing with just two attempts, neither on target, while Spain piled up 20 shots and 12 on frame. Lionel Messi, playing what is widely expected to be his final World Cup at age 39, saw little of the ball as his team struggled to generate any sustained possession, finishing the match with minimal influence on the outcome.
Argentinaâs night grew more difficult in stoppage time of regulation, when Enzo Fernandez picked up a second yellow card for a rash challenge on Pau Cubarsi, forcing the defending champions to play the final stretch of regulation and all of extra time a man down. Even shorthanded, Argentina nearly snatched a dramatic finish late in stoppage time, only for Lamine Yamalâs long range free kick to be pushed away by Martinez, sending the match to extra time still scoreless.
Argentinaâs bid for history falls just short
Argentina had entered the final hoping to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win consecutive World Cup titles, and with eight players returning from their 2022 championship squad in Qatar, the team carried real belief despite the difficult night. That bid ultimately fell short in Argentinaâs seventh appearance in a World Cup final, a match that ended in the teamâs fourth defeat on that stage. Messiâs own remarkable World Cup career, which included a record 34th tournament appearance and a tie for the most final appearances in history, ends without the second title he was chasing, even after a tournament in which he was widely regarded as playing some of the best soccer of his career before the final itself.
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Spain completes a golden era of its own
For Spain, the win cements a golden stretch that began with the 2023 Nations League title and continued through the 2024 European Championship, giving De la Fuenteâs squad a Euro and World Cup double last achieved by Spainâs own golden generation between 2008 and 2010. Rodri, Spainâs Ballon dâOr winning captain, had said before the match that the team carried far greater ambitions than simply reaching the final, and Todayâs result bore that out despite a match that offered little in the way of open, attacking soccer.
The final also carried significant ceremony beyond the pitch, featuring the World Cupâs first ever Super Bowl style halftime show, with performances from Madonna, Shakira, Justin Bieber and BTS drawing a global audience alongside the match itself. For Spain, though, the moment that mattered most came in the 106th minute, when Torres finally broke a deadlock that had tested both teamsâ patience for nearly two hours, delivering the countryâs second World Cup star and denying Argentina and Messi the storybook ending many had hoped for.