Spain are World Champions for the second time in their history after a 1-0 win over Argentina in extra time, with Ferran Torres netting the winner. Despite the scoreline, it was a dominant display from a Spain team that have now followed up their continental glory with victory on the world stage for a second time, repeating their heroics of Johannesburg in 2010 with another 1-0 World Cup final win in extra time. For Argentina, however, there is no repeat of 2022. Instead, it is a second World Cup final loss in the last four editions, and they have also managed to disgrace themselves on the world stage.
It was a tale of two completely different teams. On the one hand, Argentina. A team that made the final on the back of one man, having defeated Cape Verde in extra time, beating Egypt through an epic comeback late on, defeating 10-man Switzerland in extra time, and beating England with more late goals, helped greatly by the Three Lions’ capitulation. Argentina also managed to do all of that while making 14 fouls per game, the most of any of the semi-finalist, and also made themselves the most yellow-carded team in the tournament, with a red card in the final to sum up their competition.
On the other hand, Spain. A team that does not play the most exciting football, but show time and time again that they are clearly the best footballing side in the world. Every single player on the Spanish team has incredible ability on the ball, to the point where it is almost impossible to press them, because almost every time, they will find their way out of tight spaces. It might not be as free-flowing and exciting as France, but Spain’s style is far more effective. Along with their ability on the ball, Spain’s work off the ball is equally as impressive, with a relentless counter-press to retain possession almost immediately. They were also the best defensive team in the tournament, conceding just one goal in eight games, leaving no doubt that the European, and now World Champions, are the best national team on the planet.
The fact is, the far superior team won the World Cup final, and it would have been a stain on the sport had Spain not come out victorious. Argentina had two shots in the entire 120 minutes, with their first attempt coming after 117 minutes, a Lionel Messi shot which was blocked by Mikel Merino. Their second attempt was a Giuliano Simeone effort which sailed over the bar. Spain, however, had 20 shots on the day, with 12 of them on target, leaving Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez as one of the only players on the team who could hold his head high after a dismal display from the 2022 winners. Spain made Argentina to look like a team that had barely qualified for the tournament. In fact, Argentina’s Round of 32 opponent, Cape Verde, made a far better showing of themselves against Spain in their first group stage match, which ended 0-0, after 90 minutes of course.
Argentina were outclassed from start to finish. It was always a strong possibility given that off the ball, they were playing with a man less. Lionel Messi dragged this team to a World Cup final but his lack of work off the ball finally caught up to him and his team, giving Argentina no opportunity to regain and retain possession or even pose any sort of threat to Spain. Given they were the far inferior team, Argentina looked to break up play with consistent fouls, commiting 25 in the match. They somewhat succeeded, making the game a tough watch, but in the end were beaten by the much better team. It should be no surprise to anyone that Argentina acted in a disgraceful manner after their defeat, given the way they played against England with cheap foul after cheap foul, and the way they acted after their equaliser in that match, with Valentin Barco, a substitute, running on the pitch to celebrate in the England players’ faces after Enzo Fernandez’ goal. Even after their comeback against Egypt, Christian Romero chose to go out of his way to celebrate Argentina’s win right in front of Mohamed Salah, looking to provoke the Egyptian star, but to no avail. This time, however, Argentina were on the losing side, and instead of handling it with class, they surprised no one by showing that they are not only bad winners but also sore losers.
Leandro Paredes, who by some miracle was not sent off during the match, was sent off after it for striking Eric Garcia in the throat before hitting Gavi across the face. That came after Nahuel Molina hit Golden Ball winner, Rodri, who was running on the pitch to celebrate his team’s triumph alongside his teammates. Argentina finally faced a team good enough to overcome their dark arts, and they were not happy with the outcome. The referee was not perfect, as he somehow did not send Paredes off during the match, and disallowed a Spain goal because of a ‘foul’ that was a blatant dive by Nicolas Otamendi. However, unlike most officials during this World Cup, he saw right through Argentina’s tricks, generally not giving soft free kicks which Argentina have benefitted from all tournament, and also booking Enzo Fernandes for dissent after Fernandez didn’t get one of those soft free kicks he is used to, before sending him off later in the match for a needless foul on Pau Cubarsi. The referee also ignored ridiculous claims from Messi and Fernandez for Marc Cucurella to be sent off because of the new ‘covering the mouth’ rule. Many fans have grown a liking to Argentina over the years due to the greatness of Messi, but now most people are seeing them for what they are, a good team that have been carried by the greatest player of all time to two straight finals, and a synical side that consistently use gamesmanship to their advantage.
Moving on to Spain, the best team at the tournament. Hingsight is a wonderful thing, but after defeating France it should have been obvious this team would have no problem against Argentina. Throughout the tournament Spain have barely had to leave third gear because they are so good at keeping the ball and moving it quickly to tire the opposition both physically and mentally. They have had the two best centre backs this tournament in Aymeric Laporte and Cubarsi, with the latter preventing an Argentina equaliser deep in extra time with a sensational tackle. Their goalkeeper, Unai Simon, has not had many saves to make, but he has been excellent at playing out from the back, and has also been brilliant at sweeping the ball up when needed, which he showed again in the final. Both full backs in Cucurella and Pedro Porro have been outstanding, and the midfield has been completely dominant. Made up of Fabian Ruiz, Dani Olmo, and Rodri, no unit in the world comes close to Spain’s, with La Roja also able to bring Pedri off the bench, giving them an embarrassment of riches. Rodri deservedly took home the Golden Ball in the awards ceremony, showing eveyrone he is back to his best. They were not the most electric team going forward, and their best player Lamine Yamal certainly didn’t have his best tournament, but the forwards stepped up in key moments. Mikel Merino, used further forward off the bench in this tournament, scored two winning goals as a substitue. Mikel Oyarzabal scored five goals, including a penalty against France in the semi-finals. Nico Williams and Ferran Torres both struggled for a lot of the tournament but combined to score the most important goal in Spain’s history, alongside Iniesta’s strike in 2010, as Torres fired the ball into the roof of the net in the 106th minute. That goal was Torres’ first of the tournament, and it was also Williams’ first assist. What a time to step up.
It was far from the prettiest game of football. In fact, ugly would be a better word to describe it. But credit must go to Spain. They did not succomb to Argentina’s games and stuck to their gameplan throughout, staying patient until the goal came, and it did, even after Nico Williams had one incorrectly ruled out. The performance against France was enough to show everyone that this is the best national team on the planet, this match against Argentina was a mere formality to give them the official title of World Champions.
It will take some doing to defeat this Spanish side. They are now 38 games unbeaten (a loss on penalties is not an official loss under UEFA and FIFA rules), with the World Cup final win breaking a tie with Italy for the longest unbeaten run in Men’s International Football history. In that run, they have won the Euros and the World Cup, as well as making the Nations League final which they lost on penalties. Luis de la Fuente took over this Spain side in December 2022, as they came off the back of a third straight disappointing World Cup, having won their first star in 2010. During his time as manager, Spain have won the 2023 Nations league, won the 2024 Euros, made the Nations League final again in 2025, where they lost on penalties, and now won the biggest prize of them all, the World Cup. In 49 matches as manager, he has lost just twice, and only three times if you include penalties.
The success of de la Fuente is a testament to the difference of international football compared to club football. The only job he had at senior level in club football was with Deportivo Alaves in the third tier of Spanish football, where he was sacked after 11 matches. After that, de la Fuente made his way through the Spanish national team coaching ranks. After joining as manager of the Under-19s in 2013, he led them to European Championship glory in 2015. He then took the Under-21s to a European title in 2019, before taking the Olympic side all the way to the final in Tokyo 2021, where they had to settle for silver. During his time in the youth setup, de la Fuente spent plenty of time working with some the stars of this World Cup winning squad, such as Unai Simon, Mikel Merino, Fabian Ruiz, and Rodri. Other large footballing nations such as Brazil and England went for big names like Carlo Ancelotti and Thomas Tuchel. Spain, however, having failed at the previous World Cup with one of the best club managers in the world, Luis Enrique, opted to trust their setup, hiring a manager who had worked with the federation in de la Fuente, and they have been rewarded with enormous success.
Between 2008-2012, Spain had arguably the greatest international team of all time, winning the Euros, the World Cup and the Euros again. This Spain team is now two-thirds of the way there in repeating that dominance. Euro 2028 won’t be easy, with the likes of France and co-hosts England looking to spoil the party, but it will take a monumental effort to beat a Spain team that has built a new dynasty from the bottom up.