Spain Win the World Cup 2026 as Ferran Torres Sinks Argentina

Spain are world champions for the second time. Luis de la Fuente's side beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time at MetLife Stadium on Sunday 19 July 2026, with substitute Ferran Torres settling a final that Spain had controlled almost from the first whistle. It is Spain's first World Cup since 2010 and the crowning result of a run that stretches back to their Euro 2024 triumph, closing out the first 48-team World Cup in North America.

For 90 minutes it looked as though Argentina might survive on discipline alone. They did not manage a shot in the first half, nor a single touch in the Spanish box, yet Emiliano Martinez kept them level with a goalkeeping display that will be remembered long after the scoreline fades. The breakthrough came 39 seconds into the second period of extra time, by which point Argentina were a man short and out of answers.

Ferran Torres settles the 2026 World Cup final

Torres had been on the pitch for 44 minutes when the game finally cracked. Introduced in the 62nd minute, he pounced on a bouncing ball inside the area at the start of the second half of extra time and lashed a left-footed finish in off the underside of the crossbar from around eight yards. It was his first goal of the tournament, and it arrived at the only moment that mattered.

The chance was one of many. Spain finished with 20 attempts to Argentina's three, and an expected goals figure of 1.94 against 0.20. Marc Cucurella had rattled the Argentine defence with a shot from distance, Lamine Yamal drifted infield to find pockets that were not there, and still the ball would not go in. Martinez ended the night with 11 saves, the highest total ever recorded by a goalkeeper in a men's World Cup final.

The Enzo Fernandez red card that decided it

Argentina's resistance had a breaking point, and it came three minutes into stoppage time at the end of normal time. Enzo Fernandez collected a second yellow card, leaving Lionel Scaloni's side to play the entire 30 minutes of extra time with ten men. Spain, already dominant in possession, simply pushed the game further into Argentina's half until the gaps appeared.

Without their midfield anchor, Argentina could no longer relieve pressure. They did not register a meaningful attempt until the closing stages, and by then the trophy was gone.

A defensive record no World Cup winner has matched

The headline number from Spain's tournament is not the goals they scored but the one they conceded. Across eight matches, a record number for a World Cup champion under the expanded format, Spain gave up a single goal. No previous winner had ever lifted the trophy having conceded only once.

The final was also Spain's 38th consecutive match without defeat, a run that takes in their Euro 2024 title and now a world championship. Luis de la Fuente, meanwhile, becomes the oldest manager to win the World Cup.

Spain's road to the 2026 World Cup title

Four of those eight opponents were ranked inside the world's top ten. Only Belgium managed to score against them.

Messi's last dance ends in silence

Lionel Messi, who had gone into the final as the World Cup's all-time leading goalscorer after passing Miroslav Klose during the group stage, finished the match with just 15 touches. His best moment came in the fifth minute, when Julian Alvarez released him with only Unai Simon to beat and the Spanish goalkeeper got there first.

Argentina had arrived in New Jersey chasing back-to-back world titles and a fourth consecutive major tournament, having won the Copa America in 2021 and 2024 either side of Qatar 2022. Instead, what is widely expected to be Messi's final major tournament in an Argentina shirt ended without a goal and without the trophy.

Where Spain now sit among World Cup winners

Spain move to two world titles, joining Uruguay, Argentina and France on that mark, still behind Brazil on five and Germany and Italy on four. The 2026 final was only Spain's second appearance in the fixture, following their 1-0 win over the Netherlands in Johannesburg in 2010. Argentina, by contrast, have now reached seven finals and won three.

There is a neat piece of history in the pairing too. The last time these two met at a World Cup was the 1966 group stage in England, when Argentina won 2-1. You can see how every edition has finished on our full list of FIFA World Cup final matches, or track each nation's best finish on the World Cup progression chart.

Spain sweep the 2026 World Cup awards

Spain did not just take the trophy. Rodri won the adidas Golden Ball as the tournament's best player, anchoring the midfield through all eight matches and following the Player of the Tournament award he collected at Euro 2024. Unai Simon took the adidas Golden Glove, an almost inevitable outcome for a goalkeeper who conceded once in the entire competition. Pau Cubarsi completed the sweep with the FIFA Young Player Award, the second tournament running in which a teenage Spain defender or forward has claimed it.

The one award to escape them was the Golden Boot. Kylian Mbappe took that with 10 goals for France, retaining the prize he won in 2022 and finishing ahead of Lionel Messi. Mbappe struck twice in France's 6-4 defeat to England in the third-place play-off in Miami, a result that also lifted Jude Bellingham to seven goals for the tournament.

Full match-by-match data for the tournament is on our World Cup 2026 fixtures and stats page, and the wider historical picture sits in the FIFA All-Time World Cup section. Our pre-match Spain v Argentina final preview has the team news and lineups as they stood before kick-off.