Torres puts Spain on top of the world

Spain have become world champions for the second time in their history, Luis de la Fuente’s men beating Argentina 1-0 in Sunday’s FIFA World Cup 2026 final in New York New Jersey.

Although Spain dominated the game from start to finish, they had to wait until the 106th minute to finally find a way past Emiliano Martinez. The Argentina goalkeeper had made 12 saves up to that point but he had no answer when Nico Williams nodded down a Pedro Porro cross at the far post and Ferran Torres buried a first-time shot into the roof of the net.

Defending champions Argentina had lost Enzo Fernandez to a second yellow card at the end of normal time yet battled to the end. However, Spain, as when winning the 2010 final, found the answer in extra-time.

This was a head-to-head worthy of the World Cup final, bringing together the champions of Europe and South America, the top two sides in FIFA’s world ranking, each of them unbeaten on the road to the final. What followed was a first half dominated by Spain, who produced the first notable attempt through Lamine Yamal after five minutes. Dani Olmo worked the ball to the teenager in space on the right side of the box and he shot low but Martinez got down to block at the near post.

If Spain were in control, it was cagey stuff with La Roja struggling to find gaps in a deep, determined Argentina defence. With half-time approaching, openings did appear with Mikel Oyarzabal driving a shot at Martinez and Marc Cucurella dragging an effort wide.

For Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, the challenge increased with injuries to both of their starting centre-backs as the final progressed, with Lisandro Martinez making way for Nicolas Otamendi just before the break and Facundo Medina replacing Cristian Romero after 70 minutes.

By that point, Spain were still the side asking all the questions. Yamal created an excellent opportunity for Player of the Match Torres after 67 minutes but he headed too close to Martinez. Pau Cubarsi and substitutes Pedri and Williams all drew saves from the Argentina No 1 as the pressure continued, culminating in the goalkeeper's flying save from Yamal's free-kick at the very end of normal time.

Argentina had scored 19 goals on their way to the final yet Spain's control was such that La Albiceleste did not manage a single attempt in the 90 minutes. Their task became even greater when Fernandez collected his second yellow card for a challenge on Cubarsi three minutes into second-half added time.

Extra-time brought more of the same. Martinez kept out a Williams header and Mikel Merino put another wide. Both Williams and Torres had goals disallowed. In between, though, Torres produced the defining moment to put Spain back on top of the world.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 was the longest global showpiece ever, spanning 104 matches. For Torres, it felt even longer. He had to wait until the 106th minute of the final match for his moment to arrive but he delivered, scoring the goal that helped crown Spain as World Cup winners for the second time in their history.

Torres started Spain's opening match against Cabo Verde, a disappointing 0-0 draw. He lost his starting spot for the following game against Saudi Arabia, a 4-0 victory which kickstarted La Roja's World Cup campaign. Spain won comfortably, but the image that remained was of a frustrated Torres, who scored a goal in stoppage time that was called back for offside. The television cameras zoomed in on the substitute and the words on his lips were clearly legible: ‘Let it be a goal, let it be a goal’.

It’s not unusual for a striker to lament when a goal is disallowed but the score was already 4-0 and that gesture spoke volumes. Things weren’t going well for Torres; he wasn’t quite on top form. The goalless draw against Cabo Verde had taken its toll, as he lost his place in the starting line-up for good. When he came on against Saudi Arabia, he failed to find his rhythm; the football was flowing for his teammates but not for him. The Barcelona forward has a keen eye for goal but can be frustrated by poor runs of form and missing clear chances.

We now know that his tournament journey was well worth it. His extra-time final winner will forever remain etched in the memory of Spanish fans, and it was not his only contribution to this tournament. Torres was instrumental in the last-gasp victory against Portugal. Spain were heading for extra-time when the ball fell to him and he found Merino, whose clinical finish put his team’s fears to rest and sent Spain through to the quarter-finals.

"The goal is the least of it – all I want right now is to grab that (World) Cup and squeeze it as hard as I can," said Torres to the cameras just after the match had finished. "It’s the dream of the 47-million of us who were on the pitch today. We deserved it and we gave it our all."

In that interview, Torres didn’t let his difficult days pass him by; in the midst of the celebrations, he reflected on his less-than-ideal start to the tournament: “In the end, it was a huge relief. I think I’ve faced a lot of criticism throughout the World Cup but I believe, as I’ve already said, that destiny is written. Thank God, He’s always given me the strength to carry on and, in the end, as I say, God gives things to those who deserve them most.”

In his case, Torres is now part of an exclusive group of two Spaniards, alongside Andres Iniesta, who have scored World Cup-winning goals. He reflected further afterwards: “At the end of the day, this is a marathon, not a sprint. You have to keep working hard no matter what comes your way and, in the end, things always go to those who deserve them most."

Torres is a determined player, one of those who just keeps going. He may not be the most technically gifted player and coaches have often seen him more as a game-changer than a mainstay – but what he showed in the final sums up what he offers as a player: movement, shrewdness and goals. He is the sort of player who finds the net because he never stops looking for it.

And in this tense, drawn-out final, his reward came in the end. He added: “All finals are difficult; when (Lionel) Messi is in the opposing team, nerves always creep in. Ultimately, we’ve always stayed true to our philosophy, to our own style of football and I think we’ve demonstrated that once again today.”

Key stats

• Spain's total of one goal conceded is the lowest for a World Cup-winning team in a single edition of the tournament.

• Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon has set a record for most clean sheets in a World Cup tournament with seven.

• Spain’s Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi, both 19, are the fourth and fifth teenagers to have played in a World Cup final. As with Pele (aged 17 in 1958), Giuseppe Bergomi (18 in 1982) and Kylian Mbappe (19 in 2018), they have all ended up on the winning side.

• At 65 years and 28 days old, Luis de la Fuente has become the oldest World Cup-winning coach, surpassing the mark of his compatriot Vicente del Bosque who was 59 years and 220 days when winning Spain's first world title.

• Spain are the first team to be reigning champions of both the men's and women's World Cups at the same time, having won the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2023.

• At 39 years and 25 days old, Lionel Messi became the oldest outfield player to appear in a World Cup final, breaking the record of Sweden’s Gunnar Gren, who faced Brazil in 1958 aged 37 years and 241 days. Substitute Nicolas Otamendi beat Gren's record too to become the second-oldest outfield player (38 years, 157 days).

• Messi is also now the second player to have appeared in three World Cup finals, doing so in 2014, 2022 and 2026, after Brazil’s Cafu, who played in the 1994, 1998, 2002 deciders.

• La Roja are undefeated in regular time in their last 38 matches (W29 D9), having not lost since 22 March 2024, when they succumbed 1-0 to Colombia in a friendly in London. This is their longest-ever unbeaten sequence and has beaten Italy’s record for a European nation of 37, set between October 2018 and September 2021; it was Spain who ended that run by triumphing 2-1 in a UEFA Nations League encounter on 6 October 2021.