"European champions" Spain defeated "South American champions" Argentina to claim their second World Cup title.
Spain won 1-0 over Argentina in the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on the 20th (Korea time), on the strength of a winning goal by Ferran Torres in the second half of extra time.
With this, Spain enjoyed the second World Cup title in their history, their first in 16 years since the 2010 South Africa tournament.
With the final pairing set as Europe versus South America for the second consecutive tournament, the European side took home the trophy for the first time in eight years since France at the 2018 Russia tournament.
Europe's total number of titles rose to 13. South America has 10.
Spain became the first nation to hold both the Women's World Cup (won in 2023) and the Men's World Cup trophies.
Defending champions Argentina, who were seeking back-to-back titles, could not get over Spain's wall and had to settle for runner-up.
Spain pressured Argentina from the start of the match by maintaining high possession. In the fifth minute of the first half, Lamine Yamal led the match from the outset, including attempting a surprise shot. Yamal took a left-footed shot off a ball supplied by Dani Olmo, but it hit a defender and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez blocked it with his leg.
Argentina struggled, blocked by Spain's pressing and solid defense, failing to attempt a single shot during the 45 minutes of the first half. Late in the first half, they suffered additional misfortune when defender Lisandro Martinez was injured, forcing an unexpected substitution.
Through the first half, Spain and Argentina showed a large gap: three shots to zero, two shots on target to zero, 363 passes to 198, and an 89 percent to 78 percent pass completion rate.
A similar flow continued in the second half. Spain overwhelmed Argentina with strong forward pressing and suffocating defense, taking the initiative.
Moreover, Argentina was pushed into a numerical disadvantage when Enzo Fernandez was sent off for a second booking in second-half stoppage time.
In the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time, Yamal took a sharp left-footed free kick from the right of the penalty arc, but it was caught by a goalkeeper save as the second half ended.
Spain continued their offensive, driving their opponents in extra time as well. The tense flow between the two teams was broken just one minute into the second half of extra time. Nico Williams connected a cross that came in from the right with a heading pass on the left, and Ferran Torres split the net with a clean left-footed shot.
In the end, the match finished with a 1-0 Spain victory. "The god of football" Lionel Messi sank to the ground when the outcome was decided, while his successor Yamal embraced his teammates and shared in the joy.
