Spain are world champions again. A 1-0 win over Argentina in extra time at New Jersey’s New York/New Jersey Stadium on Sunday delivered La Roja their second World Cup title, 16 years after their first, and closed the book – barring a surprise change of heart – on Lionel Messi’s international career.
The breakthrough came 39 seconds into the second half of extra time, in the 106th minute, when substitute Ferran Torres converted from close range off a Nico Williams assist, ending a stalemate that had survived 90 minutes, a disallowed Spanish goal, and Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez being sent off for a second bookable offence in stoppage time.
Down to 10 men, Argentina leaned entirely on goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, who produced a World Cup final-record haul of saves to keep the match scoreless for as long as he did. It was not enough to stop a Spain side that finished with 20 shots to Argentina’s two, and an expected-goals tally of 1.94 against 0.20 – numbers that reflected a final Spain controlled from start to finish.
For Messi, at 39 and playing what he has indicated will be his last World Cup, the defeat ends Argentina’s bid to become the first side to win four consecutive major tournaments, following their Copa América titles in 2021 and 2024 and their World Cup triumph in 2022.
He finished the tournament with eight goals, second only to Kylian Mbappé, but without the fourth star he had chased for Argentina’s shirt. The disappointment spilled onto the streets of Buenos Aires.
Thousands of fans who had gathered around the Obelisk to watch the final saw the mood turn late on Sunday when a group tried to breach the fencing around the monument and began throwing bottles at police, who responded with tear gas and water cannon. At least 15 people were detained, with several reported injured.
The result will land hardest not just in Buenos Aires but in the thousands of Bangladeshi households that stayed up past midnight in Argentina jerseys, rooftops still draped in blue and white from a tournament many here had followed as closely as their own team’s.
For a country with no side in the tournament but an outsized emotional stake in this one, Sunday’s final offered a familiar late-night ritual. But this time, without the ending it was hoping for.
