Key Points
- Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time, winning its second World Cup title.
- Ferran Torres scored the winner in the 106th minute off a Nico Williams header.
- Argentina played the rest of the match a man down after Enzo Fernandez's red card.
- Rodri won the Golden Ball; Unai Simon won the Golden Glove for Spain.
Spain won the 2026 World Cup, beating defending champion Argentina 1-0 in extra time at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Ferran Torres scored the decisive goal in the 106th minute, and Spain held on through a match Argentina finished a man down, Yahoo Sports reported. It is Spain's second World Cup title — its first since 2010 came the same way, on an extra-time goal beating the Netherlands 1-0 — and makes Spain the first nation to hold both the men's and women's World Cup at the same time, adding the men's trophy to the women's team's 2023 title.
Spain reached the final off a 2-0 semifinal win over France, while Argentina arrived having rallied past England 2-1 in the final minutes, matching the pattern this outlet's preview of Sunday's final identified. Ninety minutes of regulation stayed scoreless, with Spain dominating: 20 shots to Argentina's 2 and an expected-goals tally of 2.29 to 0.22, per ESPN's match stats.
Argentina's night got harder before extra time even started. Enzo Fernandez was sent off for a second yellow card late in regulation after a reckless, off-the-ball challenge on Pau Cubarsi, leaving Argentina to play the rest of the match with 10 men. Spain broke through 39 seconds into the second period of extra time: Pedro Porro lifted a ball to the back post, Nico Williams beat Nahuel Molina to head it back across goal, and Torres finished from close range past goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. Martinez finished with 11 saves, a World Cup final record, but it wasn't enough — Spain conceded only once across the entire tournament.
Lionel Messi, 39, was largely shut out of the match by Spain's defense and made little impact in what is expected to be his last World Cup; Argentina's loss ended its bid to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Spain swept the tournament's individual awards: Rodri won the Golden Ball as best player, becoming the first Spanish winner and denying Messi a record third; Messi took the Silver Ball. Unai Simon won the Golden Glove after conceding just once in eight matches, and 19-year-old Pau Cubarsi was named Best Young Player over teammate Lamine Yamal.
President Donald Trump attended the final and, alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino, presented the trophy to Rodri on the podium, drawing boos from the crowd as the pair walked onto the field. Trump watched the match from a luxury box with First Lady Melania Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Infantino, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Spain's King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. The presentation came weeks after Trump called Spain "a wasted cause" over trade at a NATO summit in Turkey.
Others covering this
Fox Sports — "Rodri, Yamal And Spain Celebrate World Cup Final Win In Epic Fashion"
"Here's how Spain celebrated winning the 2026 World Cup trophy."
Gulf News — "Spain's Rodri Lifts 2026 World Cup as Donald Trump Stays on Podium During Trophy Celebrations vs Argentina"
"Donald Trump presents Spain captain Rodri the World Cup trophy after 2026 final win over Argentina, then stays on the podium during the celebrations"
Source: Yahoo Sports, ESPN, ESPN, NPR.
France's Kylian Mbappe won the tournament's Golden Boot with 10 goals, also passing Messi to become the World Cup's all-time leading scorer.
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