Spain Win the 2026 World Cup — Ferran Torres Goal in Extra Time Ends Messi’s Last Dance

Spain are world champions again. Ferran Torres scored in the second half of extra time to give Spain a 1-0 win over Argentina in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Sunday.
Pedro Porro crossed from the right. Nico Williams flicked a header across goal. Torres was there to tap it in. That was all it took.

How the Match Went

Spain dominated from the first minute. They had 20 shots — 12 on target. They controlled possession, pressed high, and gave Argentina almost nothing to work with.
Argentina had zero shots on target in 90 minutes of regular time. Their first shot of the entire match didn’t come until the 115th minute. For a team that had been coming back from impossible positions all tournament, this was a completely different kind of game — one where they never got started.
Enzo Fernandez made things worse when he picked up a second yellow card in injury time for a foul on Pau Cubarsi. Argentina finished the match with ten men.

Martinez Kept It Close

The only reason this wasn’t 3-0 was Emiliano Martinez. The Argentina goalkeeper made 11 saves across 120 minutes — the second most saves by any goalkeeper in a World Cup knockout match in the last 60 years.
After the match, Martinez revealed he had played the entire tournament with a fractured ring finger on his right hand — an injury he picked up playing for Aston Villa. He skipped surgery, took injections, and played through the pain every game.
He was the best player on the pitch for Argentina. It just wasn’t enough.

Messi’s Last Game

Lionel Messi, 39, played his final World Cup match Sunday. He finished the tournament with eight goals and four assists — the reason Argentina got to the final. In the final itself, he had one blocked shot, zero touches in the opposition box, lost the ball twice, and was fouled four times.
Spain’s defense — the same unit that conceded just one goal in eight matches across the entire tournament — simply didn’t give him space. After Fernandez’s red card, Messi was forced to play as a lone striker. Nothing came of it.
He walked off the MetLife Stadium pitch for the last time as a World Cup player. No trophy. A quiet exit.
His record in the tournament still stands — 34 years old and older, he won a World Cup, two Copa Americas, and a Finalissima for Argentina.

The Halftime Show Problem

FIFA held its first-ever Super Bowl-style halftime show at a World Cup final Sunday. Madonna, Shakira, and Justin Bieber performed on the MetLife pitch. The show ran 27 minutes and 20 seconds — nearly double FIFA’s standard 15-minute halftime break.
Analysts and coaches criticized the decision. Players had to stay warm, stretch, and re-focus for an extra 12 minutes beyond the normal break. Several commentators said the extended stoppage killed the momentum of the first half and changed the feel of the game entirely.
FIFA has not commented on whether the format will be repeated.

Spain’s Record

Spain conceded just one goal in eight matches at this tournament — that came against Belgium in the quarterfinals. Their 38-match unbeaten run now extends to a full international streak. They won Euro 2024 and the 2026 World Cup back to back.
Lamine Yamal, 19, became the youngest player to start a World Cup final. He’s already won both.
Source: FIFA.com, ESPN, NBC News, Yahoo Sports, BBC Sport