📹 Spain beat Argentina after extra time to win the 2026 Cup

📹 Spain beat Argentina after extra time to win the 2026 Cup This Sunday (19), Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time and won the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Ferran Torres’ goal early in the second half of extra time secured the Spaniards’ second world title, as they lifted the trophy again after their historic 2010 triumph in South Africa. Highlights coming up shortly ⚽ The match The first half had few exciting moments. The Europeans completely dominated possession, and Lamine Yamal caused all sorts of problems down the right side of the attack. The South Americans were limited to defending well. Argentina’s “overly physical” approach, helped by the referee’s leniency, set social media buzzing in the first half . Lionel Messi, who once again wrote his name into world football history by becoming the only player to start in three World Cup finals (Cafu was on the bench in 1994 and came on during the game in place of Jorginho), barely touched the ball. The halftime show, with an unprecedented 30-minute duration, featured global pop stars, as well as special appearances by Ronaldinho Gaúcho and Ronaldo Fenômeno. The picture was no different after the break, even with the blazing sun in New Jersey.  Until the 47th minute of the second half, Argentina touched the ball inside Spain’s box only once. The only team to do less than that was Saudi Arabia against France at the 1998 World Cup, when they did not touch the ball once in the French penalty area. Argentina’s situation became even more dramatic in stoppage time, when Enzo Fernández was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a very hard foul. This was the third sending-off for an Argentine player in a World Cup final — a record among all countries. Enzo Fernández, of Chelsea but currently in talks with Real Madrid, joined compatriots Pedro Monzón and Gustavo Dezotti, who were sent off in the 1990 World Cup final against West Germany (the champions). France’s Marcel Desailly (1998) and Zinedine Zidane (2006), as well as Dutchman Johnny Heitinha (2010), were also sent off in World Cup finals. Argentina also became the first national team to finish the 90 minutes of regulation time without even a single shot on goal in a World Cup final. In 900 World Cup matches (since 1966), only two national teams had previously finished regulation time without a shot on goal.  Argentina joins Costa Rica, who failed to get a shot on goal against Brazil in 1990 and against Spain in 2022. On the other hand, goalkeeper Dibu Martínez set the record with 10 saves from 10 shots on target in a World Cup final. The average age of Argentina’s squad in the final — 30 years and 101 days, the second oldest since Brazil’s 1962 team at 30 years and 216 days — helped the hermanos hold on as best they could.  In the first half of extra time, Spain did beat Dibu Martínez, but the referee called a stomp on Otamendi in the buildup and disallowed the goal.  However, less than a minute into the second half of extra time, Nico Williams provided a headed assist, and Ferran Torres, on Spain’s TWENTIETH SHOT ON TARGET, opened the scoring. In the end, the script of Argentina’s second World Cup runner-up finish in 12 years had many similarities. In 2014, at the Maracanã, Mario Götze came off the bench and secured the title for Germany.  In New Jersey, Ferran Torres was also not in the starting lineup and sealed Spain’s second world title, after they had also won in extra time in 2010 against the Netherlands. Ferran Torres, one of Barcelona’s eight players in La Furia, even went on to score what would have been the second goal, but it was ruled out for a razor-thin offside. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.