By Staff Reporter
Ferran Torres delivered the goal that Spain’s patience deserved, sweeping home an extra-time winner to beat Argentina 1-0 and claim the World Cup at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, in a final that will be remembered less for its football than for the manner in which Lionel Messi’s international story reached its close.
The Barcelona forward struck in the 106th minute, meeting a headed knockdown from fellow substitute Nico Williams with a first-time finish that finally undid an Argentina side who, for all their obstruction, could not muster a single shot on target across 120 gruelling minutes. It secured Spain’s second World Cup, 16 years after their first, and confirmed them as the first nation to hold the men’s and women’s titles simultaneously.
For long stretches this had threatened to be remembered as one of the great World Cup final anticlimaxes: a contest short on chances and long on stoppages, played out in front of 80,663 supporters and a clutch of watching heads of state, including Donald Trump. But its context was seismic. This was, in all likelihood, the last time Messi will grace the tournament that has defined him, and he departed it a peripheral figure, shackled by a Spanish side who refused him room to operate.
Argentina’s frustration showed early. Alexis Mac Allister flew into Dani Olmo with a reckless, studs-up challenge inside the opening quarter-hour that escaped more than a free-kick, and the pattern continued: Nicolas Tagliafico raked down Lamine Yamal’s calf without censure, while at the other end Alex Baena caught Messi with an off-the-ball elbow that referee Slavko Vincic also chose to overlook. It fell to Lisandro Martínez, on 40 minutes, to become the first man booked, for scything down Mikel Oyarzabal — and the Manchester United defender did not last much longer, withdrawn with an injury and replaced by Nicolas Otamendi before the interval.
Spain, patient and probing rather than incisive, could not turn their control into a breakthrough before half-time, Oyarzabal’s low effort comfortably held by Emiliano Martínez their only meaningful test of the Argentina goalkeeper. What followed the break — an extended half-time show featuring Shakira, Madonna and Justin Bieber that stretched the interval to 27 minutes — did nothing to disrupt Spain’s rhythm once play resumed, and the second period settled into one-way traffic.
Martínez became the final’s dominant figure by default, repelling Spain time and again: a downward header from Torres, long-range strikes from Pedri and Pau Cubarsí, and, in the dying embers of normal time, a superbly struck Yamal free-kick that he clawed away one-handed. By the end he had made a World Cup final record 11 saves. Argentina, extraordinarily, reached full time without a single shot of their own.
The game’s flashpoint arrived in stoppage time. Enzo Fernández, already booked, went through Cubarsí with a challenge that sent the young Spain defender spiralling into the air, and Vincic had no hesitation in showing a second yellow. Argentina, chasing a first repeat World Cup win since Brazil in 1962, would play the remainder of the final a man light.
Extra time brought Spain closer still. Williams thought he had broken the deadlock with a low finish bundled home from a goalmouth scramble, only for the goal to be chalked off for a foul by fellow substitute Mikel Merino on Otamendi — a decision that briefly threatened to define the match. It merely delayed the inevitable. Six minutes into the second period of extra time, Pedro Porro lofted a cross to the back post, Williams rose above Nahuel Molina to nod it into Torres’s path, and the substitute drove a rasping finish beyond the exposed Martínez from close range.
“Ultimately, the goal belongs to 47 million people, not just me or the 26 players,” Torres said afterwards, referring to Spain’s population. “At the end of the day, all finals are tough; when you’re up against Messi, there’s a certain nervousness, but we always believed in our football and in ourselves.”
Argentina threw men forward in the closing minutes but could not conjure an equaliser, and Spain held out to confirm a triumph built on control rather than spectacle — extending their unbeaten run to 38 matches, a European record, and validating the serene management of Luis de la Fuente, who has now delivered a Euro 2024 title and a World Cup inside two years.
The full-time whistle brought little of the customary sporting grace. Nahuel Molina appeared to catch Spain captain Rodri with a blow to the stomach as the celebrations began, sparking a series of scuffles: Leandro Paredes was seen with a hand to the throat of Eric García before wrestling Gavi to the ground, prompting team-mates from both sides to intervene before order was restored.
It capped a bruising end to Argentina’s tournament and drew sharp criticism from television pundits. Gary Neville, on ITV, called the scenes “a disgrace,” while Alan Shearer told the BBC that Paredes had “thrown two or three haymakers into someone’s face,” adding: “There is no place or space for that.” Former goalkeeper Joe Hart singled out Messi’s conduct by contrast, noting he had shaken hands with every Spanish player, and delivered his verdict on the contest: “Spain fully deserve it. They have dominated all game against a rigid, rugged Argentina. The best team has won this World Cup.”
For Messi, now 39 and almost certain to have played his final World Cup match, the end was quiet and tearful. Restricted to a single, off-target effort and starved of possession throughout, he collected his runners-up medal, watched his country’s fans serenade him one last time, and wept before leaving the pitch — his second World Cup final defeat as captain bringing the curtain down on a competition he had otherwise illuminated with eight goals.
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