Spain are world champions for a second time. A goalless final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, was decided in extra time by Ferran Torres, whose 106th-minute finish beat Argentina 1-0 and delivered a title Spain had not held since 2010.
A final settled by one moment
For 90 minutes the match refused to break. Argentina defended in tight lines and asked Spain to find a way through a packed penalty area. Spain, patient to the point of stubbornness, kept circulating the ball and waiting.
The decisive intervention arrived after the game had already turned. Enzo Fernández was sent off in the 90th minute for a foul on the young Spain defender Pau Cubarsí, leaving Argentina to play the additional half-hour a man short. Sixteen minutes into extra time, Torres finished from close range after a headed pass from Nico Williams, and Argentina had no answer.
Leandro Paredes was also dismissed after the final whistle, following a clash between the sides.
Martínez's record night in defeat
The scoreline flattered nobody more than it flattered Argentina's goalkeeper. Emiliano Martínez made 11 saves, the most ever recorded in a World Cup final, and for long stretches he was the only reason the match stayed level.
It was, in the end, a night that turned on the margin between a goalkeeper's brilliance and its limits.
Built on a defence that barely broke
Spain's title was founded on something rarer than flair. Across the whole tournament they conceded a single goal, the fewest ever by a World Cup winner, and they did it while playing eight matches, more than any previous champion.
That record is the tournament's most telling statistic. In a competition often defined by attacking talent, the team that won it did so by conceding almost nothing.
The individual honours
Kylian Mbappé took the Golden Boot, becoming the first player to win the award twice.
England finished third, and Jude Bellingham left the tournament with a national record, having scored more World Cup goals than any England player before him.
For Argentina, the defeat closes a cycle. For Spain, it confirms a generation that has now won a World Cup on the strength of its defence as much as its passing.
