Spain won its second World Cup title on Sunday, defeating defending champions Argentina 1-0 after extra time, with substitute Ferran Torres scoring the decisive goal in a match that denied Lionel Messi a chance to lift the trophy in what he had signaled would be his final World Cup appearance.
Torres, who had come on as a second-half substitute, scored 39 seconds into the second period of extra time, converting from close range after a cross from Lamine Yamal. The goal ended a tense, goalless deadlock that had run through 90 minutes of regulation and the first period of extra time, with Argentina reduced to 10 men by that point in the match.
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano MartÃnez set a World Cup final record with 11 saves, keeping the match level for long stretches as Spain pressed for a breakthrough. Argentina’s best late chance came from a corner kick in the closing minutes of regulation, when the ball fell to substitute Giuliano Simeone, whose effort sailed over the crossbar. Messi, 39, saw limited touches throughout the final as Spain’s defense restricted his influence in what was likely his last World Cup match.
The win completes a dominant tournament run for Spain, which conceded just one goal across eight matches, a record for fewest goals allowed by a champion in World Cup history. It marks Spain’s second world title, following its first in 2010, and makes Spain the first nation to hold both the men’s and women’s World Cup titles at the same time, after its women’s team won in 2023.
