Spain lift World Cup

East Rutherford, July 21: Ferran Torres’ first goal of this year's World Cup was the goal of his life, and it put Spain back atop the soccer world.

Denying Lionel Messi a second straight title in what he has indicated would be his final World Cup match, Torres came off the bench and scored in the 106th minute and Spain — in a match it simply dominated — ended Argentina’s reign with a 1-0 win on Sunday.

Torres pounced on a bouncing ball in the box and used his left foot to bury a shot just under the crossbar and into the back of the net.

It was Spain’s second title, this trophy getting added to the one claimed in 2010. And there’s no question about the center of the soccer universe now, not after this display.

Spain allowed only one goal in eight matches at the tournament, setting a World Cup record for fewest goals allowed by a champion. And this title, combined with the World Cup won by Spain’s women in 2023, makes the European nation the first to hold both the men’s and women’s titles simultaneously.

The score indicates this match was close, but only one team was in command.

Spain took the game’s first 20 shots on goal before Argentina — desperate for an equalizer — got its first attempt off in the second half of extra time. Spain took nine of the game’s first 10 corner kicks, and only a World Cup final-record 12 saves by Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez gave the 2022 champions a shot at going back-to-back.

Spain is now unbeaten in its last 38 matches — 29 wins, nine draws — and now is the outright holder of the longest such streak by any European team ever. Italy went 37 matches (28 wins, nine draws) from October 2018 through September 2021, before Spain ended that streak.

And for the last two-plus years, nobody has beaten Spain. Not even Messi. An Argentina team that was the kings of the late-game rally in this tournament had no answer this time.

Messi took a corner kick with about four minutes left before the final whistle and the ball took a fortunate skip toward reserve Giuliano Simeone — who sent it high and over the crossbar, holding his head in disbelief afterward.

The win made Spain coach Luis de la Fuente, at 65, the oldest coach ever to lead a team to the World Cup title.

It also represents a remarkable achievement for Spain under Luis de la Fuente, who guided the European champions to complete the Euro 2024-World Cup 2026 double—a feat not accomplished since Spain's golden generation in 2008-2010. Argentina's bid to become the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cups fell short in a World Cup final that demonstrated the evolving nature of modern tournament football. 

There was some pushing and shoving after the final whistle, which was quickly cleaned up and Spain commenced its celebration as most Argentina players sat on the turf in disbelief.

Enzo Fernandez was sent off in second-half stoppage time after getting his second yellow card, meaning Argentina was forced to finish the match with only 10 players. Fernandez was carded for a reckless play that sent Spain defender Pau Cubarsi cartwheeling into the air, and the card came out immediately.

Golden Ball to Rodri

France's Kylian Mbappé is now the owner of World Cup Golden Boots. Spain then won all the individual player awards, denying Messi also more personal hardware.

    Rodri won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player, Unai Simón won the Golden Glove for the top performance by a goalkeeper, and Pau Cubarsí won the Best Young Player Award, beating out fellow 19-year-old teammate Lamine Yamal.(AP)