Spain won its second World Cup title Sunday, beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time after substitute Ferran Torres scored in the 106th minute at MetLife Stadium, denying Lionel Messi a farewell championship as the two-time defending champion finished the match with 10 men.
Torres, who had entered in the 62nd minute for Mikel Oyarzabal, struck 39 seconds into the second period of extra time, converting a half-volley from about eight yards after a rapid sequence of Spanish passes cut through Argentina’s low defensive block. A brief video review for a potential offside call confirmed the goal.
“The goal belonged to 47 million people, not to me,” Torres said afterward, describing the win as something greater than any single player’s achievement and saying he felt it was Spain’s destiny to lift the trophy on American soil.
Spain dominated the match statistically from the opening whistle, holding 63% possession and generating double-digit shots on target across 120 minutes while Argentina failed to register a single shot on target the entire game. Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez kept the match level for as long as he could, setting a World Cup final record with 11 saves that broke the previous championship-match mark of eight.
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Argentina’s task grew harder in the third minute of second-half stoppage time, when midfielder Enzo Fernández was shown a second yellow card, and with it a red, for a reckless challenge on Spain’s Pau Cubarsí. The dismissal left the two-time defending champions to play all of extra time a man down against a Spanish side that had already controlled most of the match. Spain coach Luis de la Fuente used the numerical advantage to rotate fresh legs into his lineup, bringing on defender Eric García and midfielder Martín Zubimendi while keeping forward Ferran Torres central to the attack that eventually produced the winning goal.
The victory gives Spain its second World Cup title, matching its 2010 triumph, which also came via a 1-0 extra-time goal, and completes a European Championship and World Cup double the country previously achieved in 2008 and 2010. Spain captain Rodri lifted the trophy after the final whistle.
The build-up to the match had centered on a generational handoff between Messi and 19-year-old Lamine Yamal, whom many in soccer regard as Messi’s heir apparent. Photos circulated widely beforehand showing a 20-year-old Messi bathing a 5-month-old Yamal during a 2007 UNICEF charity campaign, a coincidence framed by fans and media as an almost prophetic preview of Sunday’s final. On the field, the framing held: Messi and Argentina never managed a shot on target in 120 minutes, while Yamal and Spain never trailed and rarely looked troubled.
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Messi, who turned 39 during the tournament, had entered the final as the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer, having passed Miroslav Klose’s career record earlier in the competition on his way to eight goals across five matches this tournament. He had not said before the match whether it would be his last World Cup, and Sunday’s defeat left the question open rather than settled. With his team chasing the game and struggling to retain possession, Messi rarely touched the ball in the closing stages. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni made his third substitution shortly beforehand, bringing on Nahuel Molina for Gonzalo Montiel, the penalty-shootout hero of Argentina’s 2022 title win, in a bid to inject fresh energy into a tiring back line.
Sunday’s occasion carried the trappings of a much larger spectacle than a typical final. A closing ceremony began roughly 90 minutes before kickoff, and halftime programming featured performances from Post Malone, Justin Bieber, Madonna, Shakira and BTS, among other acts, in what organizers described as the first halftime show staged at a FIFA World Cup final. President Donald Trump attended the match and presented the championship trophy to Rodri on the field afterward.
Argentina defender Lisandro Martínez limped off with an injury during the match, adding to the toll on a team that had entered the tournament as defending champions after winning in Qatar in 2022. Argentina, chasing what would have been a third World Cup title in five tournaments, leaves this year’s competition without the trophy it had held for the past four years, and without the outright storybook ending some had expected for Messi in what may or may not prove to be his final World Cup appearance.