Spain Are World Champions — and the Final Was Not as Close as 1-0 Suggests

Sunday at 8pm Irish time, and for 105 minutes nothing happened that a scoreline would record. Then a substitute finished a substitute’s header, and Spain were world champions. 1-0 after extra time at MetLife Stadium.

I want to lead with a number rather than the result, because it tells you more: Argentina did not have a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Not one. A 1-0 after extra time usually describes a thriller that could have gone either way. This was not that.

The Facts

Score after 90: 0-0. Attendance: 80,663. Referee: Slavko Vincic of Slovenia.

The Goal

Pedro Porro delivered to the back post. Nico Williams, on from the bench himself, beat Molina in the air and headed it down. Ferran Torres, introduced in the 62nd minute for Oyarzabal, hit it first time with his left foot past Emiliano Martinez. It arrived about 39 seconds into the second half of extra time and it was Torres’s first goal of the tournament.

Two substitutes decide a World Cup final. You can call that luck. I would call it squad depth, and it was the difference between these two sides all night.

The Red Card, Honestly Assessed

Enzo Fernandez went for a second yellow in the 90+3rd minute after a reckless challenge that sent Pau Cubarsi into the air. Argentina played all of extra time with ten men, and the winning goal came against ten.

Here is the honest version, though: Argentina had not managed a shot on target in the 90 minutes they played with eleven either. The dismissal explains the last half hour. It does not explain a night without a single effort on Unai Simon’s goal.

After the Whistle — Get This One Right

Seconds after full time, Leandro Paredes grabbed Spain’s Eric Garcia by the throat and wrestled Gavi to the ground before Spanish players stepped in. It started when Molina confronted Rodri and Garcia intervened.

A lot of coverage got the next bit wrong, so it is worth stating plainly: several outlets reported that Paredes was sent off — FIFA’s official match report says he was not. The altercation is confirmed by multiple independent sources. The red card is a media claim the official record contradicts. Argentina finished the final with one confirmed dismissal, not two.

Alan Shearer on BBC duty: "Paredes threw two or three haymakers into someone’s face. He went for them."

What They Said

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente: "I said gentlemen we have an appointment with history, and we want to be there first."

Match-winner Ferran Torres: "I just saw the ball coming to me and I just shot with the power of all the Spanish people."

Lionel Messi, held scoreless in what is widely reported as his last World Cup at 39: "They were better, to be honest. We lost the game, and we accept that."

Lionel Scaloni on Messi: "He’s 39 years old, it’s an incredible thing. … In my opinion, he’s the best footballer to ever step onto a football pitch."

Final Standings

My Verdict

A side that concedes once in eight games and does not allow a single shot on target in the final has not scraped a title. It has controlled one. The reason it took 105 minutes is Emiliano Martinez, whose 11 saves are a World Cup final record and who kept a losing team alive far longer than the run of play deserved. If you want a man of the match from the beaten side, it is the goalkeeper, comfortably.

For Irish viewers, the scheduling was generous throughout — 8pm on a Sunday for a World Cup final is as good as it gets, and RTÉ and Virgin Media carried it free-to-air.

More from me: Spain’s records and what they mean · The 2026 awards · How every market settled · England World Cup 2026 odds

Result and match detail: Wikipedia (2026 World Cup final), ESPN, Yahoo Sports, FIFA, PBS, 19–20 July 2026. Odds are fractional (decimal in brackets). All markets are now settled. Please bet responsibly. 18+, gambleaware.ie.