Spain secure second World Cup crown after extra-time win over Argentina | OneFootball

Spain are world champions for the second time after beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time of the 2026 World Cup final.

Ferran Torres scored the decisive goal for Spain in the added period, after Argentina had dug deep to hold on into extra time.

Spain were dominant from start to finish against the reigning world champions in New Jersey, with Argentina unable to lay a glove on Luis de la Fuente’s side.

Argentina failed to have a single shot on goal until deep into extra time, as Spain dominated the possession and chances. The flashpoint of a forgettable final ultimately came in second-half stoppage time, when Enzo Fernandez was sent off for Argentina.

Having been cautioned for dissent earlier in the contest, the Chelsea midfielder’s late challenge on Pau Cubarsi saw him become only the sixth player sent off in a World Cup final.

Argentina had struggled to get a foothold in the game even before Fernandez’s red card, and with 10 men looked likely to need penalties. A shootout never arrived, as only the second final to reach extra-time without a goal saw its deadlock broken through Torres.

Nico Williams kept alive a deep cross at the back post, with his header back across goal emphatically slammed in as the Spanish substitutes combined.

Torres had the ball in the back of the net again after being slipped in by the excellent Lamine Yamal, only for the offside flag to deny the Barcelona forward a second by the tightest of margins.

It mattered little, as Spain celebrate another triumph on the biggest stage of all.

For Spain, a second world title arrived in familiar fashion to their first, a 1-0 extra-time win in a game La Roja had dominated.

For Argentina and Lionel Messi, who became only the second man to feature in three World Cup finals, a glorious era on this stage looks to have ended with one final, painful defeat.

Read – Every player sent off in a World Cup final as Fernandez sees red

See more – Five Weird and Wonderful World Cup Final Stories

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