After a thrilling 38 days of soccer, Sunday saw the 2026 FIFA World Cup encapsulated inside New York/New Jersey Stadium as Argentina looked to become the first team since Brazil in 1958 and 1962 to win consecutive World Cup titles while Spain looked to clinch its first World Cup title in 16 years. A goal from Fernan Torres gave Spain a 1-0 win after extra time.
After taking the top spot in Group J with a perfect 3-0-0 record, Argentina’s quest featured nervy 3-2 wins over Cabo Verde and Egypt in the opening two rounds. Pressure eased on July 11th as the nation secured a 3-1 win over Switzerland to advance. Argentina clinched their spot in Sunday’s final after securing a 2-1 win over England thanks to Lautaro Martínez’s stoppage-time strike.
On the other end, Spain finished first in Group H after securing an unbeaten record of 2-0-1 before securing back-to-back shutouts against Austria and Portugal. Spain advanced further on July 10th thanks to a 2-1 win over Belgium. Spain clinched their spot in Sunday’s final after securing a strong 2-0 win over tournament favorites France.
Lionel Scaloni made two changes from the lineup that defeated England. Emiliano Martínez started in goal behind the backline of Nicolás Tagliafico, Lisandro Martínez, Cristian Romero, and Gonzalo Montiel. Nicolás González, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernández, and Rodrigo De Paul formed the midfield quartet behind the attacking pair of Lionel Messi and Julián Álvarez.
On the other side, Luis de la Fuente made zero changes from their win over France. Unai Simón started in goal behind the backline of Marc Cucurella, Aymeric Laporte, Pau Cubarsí, and Pedro Porro. Fabián Ruiz and Rodri sat deeper in the midfield behind the trio of Álex Baena, Dani Olmo, and Lamine Yamal. Mikel Oyarzabal served as the lone attacker up top.
Spain’s first big chance came in the fifth minute when a series of passes led to Yamal's attempt to send the ball centrally being deflected and falling to Olmo, who tapped it forward to Yamal. The teenager attempted to slot the ball home, but Martínez made himself wide to stop the teenager’s chance.
Oyarzabal came close to finding the back of the net in the 39th minute when a series of passes led to the ball bouncing atop the box to Oyarzabal, who attempted to rocket a shot goalward that Emi Martínez stopped.
Cucurella came close to finding the net in the 43rd minute when he found a pocket of space on the left flank and tried to curl a shot to the bottom-right corner that just skipped wide of the goalpost and out.
Scaloni was forced to go to the bench in the 44th minute after a knock brought Lisandro Martínez’s World Cup to an end, as he was replaced by Nicolás Otamendi.
Despite some good chances from both sides, the deadlock could not be broken in the opening 45 minutes as we headed to the halftime break tied at zero.
After an…eventful…halftime show, we finally got back to the action as both sides looked to find the advantage and hoist the World Cup trophy.
Scaloni made another change before the start of the second half as Leandro Paredes replaced González.
Álex Baena came close to finding the back of the net in the opening minute of the second half as a turnover from Argentina in their open half led to the midfielder getting onto the ball and floating atop the box before attempting to strike the bottom-right corner. Martínez was alert to the strike as he dove down to make the save and keep the game scoreless.
Tempers flared in the 52nd minute as a foul on Rodri led to both sides converging over the fallen player, which led to a shove by Leandro Paredes on Olmo, which landed the Argentine substitute in the referee’s book with a yellow card.
Scaloni made another change in the 58th minute as Nahuel Molina replaced Gonzalo Montiel. Luis de la Fuente’s first changes came in the 61st minute as Pedri and Ferran Torres replaced Ruiz and Oyarzabal. Torres came close to putting Spain on the board in the 67th minute when Yamal raced onto the ball and chipped it off the goal line to Torres, who attempted to head the ball home but had his effort saved by Emi Martínez.
Scaloni made his final two of their allotted changes in the 70th minute when Giuliano Simeone and Facundo Medina replaced De Paul and Romero. Spain made two changes in the 75th minute, as Nico Williams and Mikel Merino replaced Baena and Olmo.
Pedri looked to find the opening goal in the 77th minute when he received a pass atop the box and turned goalward before unleashing a shot that forced Emi Martínez to make the save. Cubarsí came close to scoring in the 77th minute when he found himself open a ways away outside the box and knuckled a ball goalward that forced Martínez to make the save. Mikel Merino got onto the deflected ball by Martínez, but couldn’t find the back of the net from the incredibly tight angle.
Enzo Fernández entered the referee’s book in the 82nd minute for dissent after arguing with Slavko Vinčić. Romero saw his name etched into the referee’s book in the second minute of stoppage time as he received a yellow card along the touchline for dissent after voicing his frustration.
Momentum swung in Spain’s favor in the third minute of stoppage time when Fernández laid in a crunching tackle on Cubarsí, which led to Vinčić issuing the midfielder a second yellow card and led to Fernández’s ejection.
Yamal nearly called the game in the eighth minute of stoppage time when a free kick opportunity just outside the box led to Yamal curling a shot to the upper-right corner that forced Martínez to leap to his left and tip the ball away.
90 minutes wasn’t enough time to decide things, so we headed to extra time as both sides looked to get the scoring going and clinch the World Cup title. Williams nearly found the game’s first goal in the 93rd minute when he got on the end of Pedri’s cross and headed it goalward, forcing Martínez to make another key save.
After a few close chances, Williams netted the game’s first goal after getting onto Mikel Merino’s deflected shot and drilled the ball into the back of the net. Celebrations didn’t last long as Slavko Vinčić blew his whistle to overturn the goal as Mikel Merino was deemed to have committed a foul on Nicolás Otamendi before his initial shot.
Spain made two changes in the 99th minute, as Eric García and Martín Zubimendi replaced Laporte and Rodri. Argentina’s final change came in the 102nd minute as Marcos Senesi replaced Álvarez.
Merino nearly found the opening goal in the 105th minute after Nico Williams found a pocket of space on the left flank and curled a ball to Merino yards away from goal. Merino attempted to curl a header to the right side of the net, but put a little too much on it as it sailed just wide of the post.
After countless opportunities, the deadlock was broken in the 106th minute after Nico Williams headed a long ball backwards to Ferran Torres, who drilled the ball into the roof of the net to give Spain the 1-0 lead.
Torres appeared to seal things in the 113th minute when a series of headers led to Lamine Yamal volleying a ball forward into the path of Torres, who raced past his defenders to find himself one-on-one with Emi Martínez and proceeded to slot it home. Celebrations did not last long as the assistant raised his flag for offside, as the goal was wiped off the board.
Williams squandered a golden opportunity in the 116th minute after some fancy footwork led to him racing all alone toward Emi Martínez. Williams again attempted to flash the footwork, but butchered the opportunity by deflecting the ball out for a goal kick.
Argentina came close to leveling things in the 120th minute when Giuliano Simeone attempted to send the ball centrally, but the Spanish backline tapped it out for a corner. They nearly scored on the ensuing corner kick when Messi plopped the ball into the box as it pinballed in a sea of bodies and out for another corner.
Third time was almost the charm for Argentina as the corner kick fell to Giuliano Simeone in a pocket of space in the box. Simeone attempted to boot the ball home and level the match, but put too much under it as it sailed over the goal and out.
Despite the late resurgence, Argentina couldn’t get the job done as Ferran Torres’ 113th-minute strike was the deciding factor as Spain captured their second FIFA World Cup title following a 1-0 victory over the reigning champions.
Leandro Paredes was issued a red card after the match for punching Pedri.
