By Samuel Akpan
In a pulsating encounter at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Spain have been crowned 2026 FIFA World Cup champions after edging out Argentina 1-0 in extra time, with Ferran Torres scoring the only goal in the 106th minute.
After a tense 90 minutes, a fiercely contested battle between two footballing giants remained deadlocked despite dangerous attacks from both sides.
The breakthrough finally came just a minute into extra time.
Latching onto a perfectly weighted pass from Nico Williams, the forward fired home in spectacular fashion to break the stalemate and ignite wild celebrations among the Spanish fans.
Argentina’s frustration boiled over as Lautaro Martínez, Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernández and Cristian Romero all received yellow cards, while head coach Lionel Scaloni was also booked during extra time.
Spain dominated possession for long spells but were repeatedly denied by Argentina’s disciplined and well-organised defence until coach Luis de la Fuente’s substitutions proved decisive in shifting the momentum.
The victory completes an extraordinary record for Spain in the 21st century, having now won all five major finals they have contested – the European Championships of 2008 and 2024, the World Cups of 2010 and 2026, and the 2012 Euros.
The triumph marks only the second time in history that Spain has followed a European Championship victory with World Cup glory.
As the final minutes ticked away, a desperate Argentina threw everything forward in search of an equalizer—resulting in a 111th-minute booking for Alexis Mac Allister—but the Spanish defense held rock-solid through the grueling final stretches of extra time.
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