Spain Are 2026 World Champions! Ferran Torres Decided the Final Against Argentina in Extra Time

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Spain — Argentina — 1:0. Goal: Ferran Torres, 106th minute.

Spain won the World Cup, beating Argentina in a dramatic final at MetLife Stadium. The tournament's biggest match kept fans on edge for almost two hours: Spain attacked, Emiliano Martínez produced save after save, and the only goal came in extra time.

The championship-winning goal belonged to Ferran Torres. In the 106th minute he finished a multi-pass move after Pau Cubarsí's cross and Nico Williams' knock-down. Spain won 1:0 and became the 2026 world champion.

| 2026 World Cup Final | Result | | --- | --- | | Spain — Argentina | 1:0 (after extra time) | | Goal | Ferran Torres, 106th minute | | Stadium | MetLife, New York/New Jersey |

Spain seized the initiative from the opening minutes

The start of the game immediately set the tone of the final. Spain showed no caution and took control of the ball in their very first attack. The team camped confidently in the opposition half, worked the flanks and forced Argentina to defend in numbers.

The first dangerous moment came in the fifth minute. Lamine Yamal received the ball on the right, played a one-two and drilled a low shot toward the far corner. Emiliano Martínez got down quickly to save Argentina.

Argentina responded by trying to feed Lionel Messi and Julián Álvarez, but the Spanish defence stayed alert. In the sixth minute Messi failed to reach a pass in front of goal: Unai Simón rushed far out of his box in time to snuff out the threat.

The longer the first half went on, the clearer Spain's dominance became. Fabián Ruiz and Rodri controlled midfield, Dani Olmo hunted for space between the lines, and Yamal and Álex Baena kept stretching the Argentine defence.

In the 39th minute Olmo found Mikel Oyarzabal on the edge of the box. The forward shot toward the right corner, but Martínez was there again. Soon after, Marc Cucurella joined the attack on the left and sent a low effort just wide of the far post.

Argentina finished the first half without a single shot. Spain managed three, two on target, but the score stayed 0:0.

Emiliano Martínez kept Argentina in the game

In the second half the pressure on Argentina's goal grew even stronger. As early as the 47th minute Baena won the ball on the left flank, cut inside and shot — Martínez caught it again.

Spain kept methodically prising open the opposition defence. Olmo shot from distance, Yamal created chances on the right, and the defenders regularly joined the attacks. Argentina dropped deeper and deeper and barely threatened Simón's goal.

Spain's coaching staff made key changes in the 62nd minute. Ferran Torres and Pedri came on for Oyarzabal and Fabián Ruiz. The substitutions visibly freshened up the team's play.

Ferran was in the thick of things almost immediately. In the 67th minute he met Yamal's cross with a header, but placed it straight into the Argentine keeper's hands. Later, Martínez dealt with efforts from Pedri, Cubarsí and Nico Williams.

By the 90th minute the statistics looked almost unbelievable: Spain had taken 15 shots, ten of them on target. Argentina still had not registered a single shot.

Yet the score remained goalless.

Enzo Fernández's red card changed the endgame

The key moment of normal time came in the third minute of stoppage time. Enzo Fernández fouled Cubarsí crudely in midfield and picked up a second yellow card.

Argentina were down to ten men.

Spain could have scored almost immediately. Nico Williams unleashed a long-range shot after a quick counter, but Martínez rescued his team once more. In the final minute Yamal fired from inside the box toward the right corner — the Argentine keeper parried that one too.

After 90 minutes the scoreboard still showed zeros. The final went to extra time.

Spain kept storming the goal

The pattern did not change in the first period of extra time. Spain kept the ball, switched it from flank to flank and probed for space in a packed defence.

In the 93rd minute Pedri delivered a precise ball into the box. Nico Williams could not quite reach it with his head, but the episode still forced Martínez into an awkward save at the far post.

A few minutes later Mikel Merino shot on the turn, and Williams turned the rebound into an empty net. The goal was disallowed, however: before the shot Merino had fouled Nicolás Otamendi.

In the 103rd minute Merino had another opportunity. The midfielder met a cross from the left with a header but missed the far corner.

After the first 15 minutes of extra time it was still 0:0. It seemed Argentina might hold out for a penalty shootout. But Spain struck the decisive blow right after the restart.

Ferran Torres scored the championship goal

In the 106th minute Cubarsí joined the attack and delivered a cross from the right flank to the far post. Nico Williams chose not to shoot and headed the ball back into the centre.

Ferran Torres was waiting there.

The forward finished instantly under the crossbar. Emiliano Martínez, who had been saving Argentina all match long, was powerless this time.

1:0 — Spain finally converted their overwhelming dominance into a goal.

That moment was the climax of the final. Torres had come on midway through the second half, kept finding gaps between the defenders, and ended up exactly where a striker should be.

Argentina's last assault

After conceding, Argentina had to push forward. Despite being a man down and having created almost nothing in the previous 105 minutes, the team tried to mount a final assault.

In the 117th minute a long-range Messi strike hit Merino's head. The Spanish midfielder took the ball on himself and helped his team protect the lead.

In stoppage time Argentina created their most dangerous moments of the entire match. Senesi met a low cross from the right, but after a deflection the ball flew just past the near post. Then Giovanni Simeone shot after a corner — over the bar.

There was no time left for more.

After the final whistle, emotions boiled over. Leandro Paredes received a red card for his part in a scuffle, but that episode no longer affected the outcome.

The final statistics confirmed Spain's superiority

The 1:0 scoreline looks narrow, but the flow of the match was far more one-sided than the final score.

| Statistic | Spain | Argentina | | --- | --- | --- | | Shots | 20 | 2 | | Shots on target | 12 | 0 | | Corners | 9 | 4 | | Offsides | 4 | 1 |

Spain did not allow their opponent a single shot on Unai Simón's goal. Argentina held on for a long time thanks to selfless defending and a magnificent performance from Emiliano Martínez, but the constant pressure eventually earned Spain a deserved goal.

Spain are world champions

Spain played the final with confidence and patience. The team did not abandon its football even after the Argentine keeper's tenth save, and did not panic when the match went to extra time.

Victory came from several precise decisions. Pedri's introduction added movement in the centre, Nico Williams strengthened the left flank, and Ferran Torres delivered the tournament's most important strike.

Argentina fought to the last minute but rarely progressed into creative play. Messi and Álvarez hardly ever received the ball in dangerous positions, and after Enzo Fernández's sending-off it became even harder for the South Americans to contain the opposition's attacks.

The final whistle sealed a historic result: Spain — Argentina — 1:0. Spain are the 2026 world champions.

Match report

2026 FIFA World Cup. Final. New York/New Jersey, MetLife Stadium.

| Report | Details | | --- | --- | | Result | Spain — Argentina — 1:0 (after extra time) | | Goal | Ferran Torres, 106 | | Sent off | Enzo Fernández, 90+3; Leandro Paredes — after the final whistle | | Booked | Lisandro Martínez, Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernández, Mikel Merino | | Referee | Slavko Vinčić, Slovenia |

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