By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-07-19 23:24:00 | Updated at 2026-08-02 23:37:47
2 weeks ago
Spain came to play. Argentina came to frustrate. Only one team deserved to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.
Ferran Torres. Meet Andrés Iniesta.
They are the only two men to score a goal for Spain in a FIFA World Cup final. Both goals came in extra-time. Both ensured that Spain collected the trophy.
Spain are men’s world champions for the second time, beating Argentina 1-0 in the final of the 2026 World Cup. Barcelona’s Torres scored the only goal of the game in the second half of extra-time.
It’s the second time Spain have won the World Cup, adding to their triumph in 2010 when they outlasted the Netherlands in a bruising, attritional final in Johannesburg. On that night, Spain were the only team intent on playing football. They eventually prevailed.
And there were striking similarities between that final and the 2026 showpiece in New Jersey.
Once again, Spain came to play. This time it was Argentina who came to frustrate.
The result was an utterly one-sided final that Spain – eventually – won.
Lionel Scaloni’s side did not attempt a single shot until the 26th minute of extra-time. By then, Spain had already registered 20 efforts, landed 12 on target, and were edging ever closer to lifting the World Cup once again.
The contrast in each sides’ ambition was glaring.
Argentina tried to disrupt the game’s rhythm, slowed down the tempo with tactical fouls and defended doggedly.
Spain monopolised possession and territory. They did not create a stream of clear-cut chances, but they controlled the contest almost entirely before Torres lashed home after Nico Williams‘ knockdown.
Spain completed 235 passes in the final third of the pitch. Scaloni’s side completed just 47. That gave Spain a field tilt of 83.3%, which illustrates just how territorial control they had.
Torres became just the fifth substitute to score in a World Cup final, and the first since Mario Götze’s extra-time winner for Germany against Argentina in 2014.
Spain finished with 20 shots to Argentina’s two. The difference of +18 is the second-largest shot differential ever recorded in a World Cup final, behind only West Germany’s 23 shots to Argentina’s single effort in the 1990 final; another dour contest that Argentina lost 1-0.
Argentina’s frustrations finally boiled over at the final whistle. As Spain’s players spilled onto the pitch to celebrate, Leandro Paredes lashed out, sparking an ugly on-pitch melee that summed up a deeply fractious performance.
Argentina committed 25 fouls in the contest, the most by any team in a World Cup match since Argentina themselves made 26 in the 2022 final against France.
One of those fouls came when Enzo Fernández crashed into Pau Cubarsí, sending him cartwheeling. That saw him collect his second yellow card of the game, and become only the sixth player ever sent off in a World Cup final. Argentina account for half of those dismissals, alongside Pedro Monzón and Gustavo Dezotti in 1990.
But this final belongs to Spain.
Just as they did in South Africa 16 years earlier, their control of possession formed the foundation of an extraordinary defensive campaign.
Spain never trailed at any point during the tournament and conceded just once across eight matches, with Belgium’s Charles De Ketelaere the only player to breach their defence. No World Cup-winning team has ever conceded fewer goals over a single campaign.
Spain allowed their opponents just 2.3 expected goals across the entire tournament, an average of only 0.3 xG per game. That per-game figure is the best recorded by any team across a men’s World Cup. Unbelievably, Emiliano Martínez made more saves tonight (11) than Spain goalkeeper Unai Simón has had to make across the entire tournament (10).
In a tournament full of superstars, it’s been the collective team-quality of Spain that’s ultimately shone through. It also cements them firmly as the eminent powerhouse in world football.
La Roja are only the fourth men’s nation to hold both the European Championship and the World Cup simultaneously, after West Germany (1972-74), France (1998-2000) and Spain’s own golden generation, who became the first men’s team to win three consecutive major international tournaments between Euro 2008 and Euro 2012.
The final saw Spain extended their unbeaten run to 38 matches (W29 D9), the longest ever recorded by a men’s European national team.
In a final short on quality but full of chaos, Spain have reminded us that that control can still conquer anarchy.
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