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Spain has won the 2026 FIFA World Cup playing against Argentina. They score Argentina 1-0 in the extra time of the match, ending Lionel Messi’s attack and the defending champions from winning the World Cup back to back titles. It’s a great way the tournament ended where Spain only conceded only one goal all through the eight games they played.
Ferran Torres scored the winning and deciding goal in the 106th minute of the extra time. He subbed into the game and smashed the ball past goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and with william jnr creating the assist. This is Spain’s second World Cup title in their history, their first was in 2010.
Back then, 19 year old Lamine Yamal was only three years old. Now he has a World Cup winner’s medal also, adding to what is already a very impressive career for a player at a young age.
The End of an Era for Messi and Argentina
For Messi, this might be his last appearance as an important player playing for his country. At 39 years old, he has already won the 2022 World Cup and also able to win the two Copa America titles, and it was in 2021 and 2024.
This final match against Spain is his last match for his national career and his last possible chance of him winning the second World Cup. Spain’s strong defence and strong attacking players made him to lose the chance.
Spain on the other side has also won two World Cups and the 2024 European Championship all at the same time. This is somehow close to what their previous and past national team did in 2008 and 2012 consecutively, the Spanish national club won the World Cup and also went ahead to win the two Euros back to back.
The Spain national squad is very strong and they are likely going to win more trophies and cups.
A Team Win, Not Just One Player
Lamine Yamal only has one goal in the whole of this tournament, but Spain didn’t depend on him for the cup. Coach Luis de la Fuente built a team that didn’t depend on just one star player before winning.
Rodri had control of the midfield, Mikel Oyarzabal finished the tournament scoring five goals, and goalkeeper Unai Simon was one of the best keepers amongst others in the competition. He’s a strong favourite who is going to win the Golden Glove award of the tournament.
Ferran Torres’ goal is also special for another reason. He is only the fifth substitute to ever score in a World Cup final, and the first since Mario Gotze did it for Germany against Argentina which was in 2014. He is also only the second Barcelona player to score in a World Cup final, after Andres Iniesta who scored the winning goal for Spain against the Netherlands back then in 2010.
How Spain Got Here
Spain’s tournament didn’t start very well. They ended the match 0 to 0 draw by Cape Verde, it wasn’t expected in this tournament but football has its way of surprising fans. The Spanish team then won Saudi Arabia 4 to 0, and won Uruguay 1 to 0 were enough to help them to win their group.
After that, Spain scored 3 to 0 goals against Austria, then won Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal 1 to 0 knocking them out in the round of 16. They then beat Belgium 2-1 in the quarter-final, and won against France 2 to 0 in the semi-final.
In the final, Spain controlled the whole match. They had 12 shots on target compared to Argentina’s that had just 1 shot on target. Argentina also played up to the last minute of extra time with one man down, after Enzo Fernandez received a second yellow card and was sent off the match. When Torres scored, there wasn’t enough time left for Argentina to fight back.
Conclusion – Congratulations, Spain
Spain winning the World Cup is as a result of a strong and consistent effort that was built on good defending and teamwork, not just one star player controlling the game.
PamPredict congratulates Spain on a well-deserved title. We look forward to covering and updating on every big tournament with the same quality of match analysis and experts insights in the future.
