Ferran Torres breaks Argentina's heart in extra time as Spain win the World Cup for the second time

[NeuralTrace]

Spain are world champions after beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, ending Lionel Messi's international career on a quiet, frustrating night rather than the fairytale ending a generation of fans had hoped for. Ferran Torres settled it just 39 seconds into the second period of extra time, heading down a Nico Williams cross before rifling it home from close range past Emiliano Martinez, capping a match that stayed scoreless through 90 minutes and the first period of extra time

Spain dominated the game from start to finish, racking up 20 shots and an expected goals tally of 1.94 compared to Argentina's paltry 0.20 from just two attempts, but Martinez kept them out with a string of excellent saves until he finally had no answer for Torres. The turning point arrived in second half stoppage time of normal time, when Enzo Fernandez picked up a second yellow card and left Argentina to see out extra time with ten men, tilting an already lopsided game even further in Spain's favor. Spain briefly thought they had broken through earlier when Nico Williams found the net, only for the goal to be chalked off after Mikel Merino was judged to have fouled Nicolas Otamendi in the buildup

For Messi, who had said before the tournament this would be his last World Cup, it was a subdued final chapter, one ESPN pundit rated his performance a 3 out of 10 on the night. Argentina had been chasing something no side has managed since Brazil in 1962, back to back titles, after winning it all in Qatar in 2022, but they managed only two shots all match and never seriously threatened Spain's back line. It marks the third time in the last four World Cups that Argentina have reached the final, having also lost to Germany in 2014

For Spain, already reigning European champions, this is their second World Cup title and first since 2010, a tournament run built on a defense that conceded just a single goal across eight matches, shipping only once against Belgium in the quarterfinal. Manager Luis de la Fuente drew some criticism for benching in-form midfielder Pedri for the final, a decision that looked questionable early on but was ultimately vindicated as his selected side ground out the win

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[CodyRhodes29]

Messi's tournament ending with a 3 out of 10 rating in the final itself is such a quiet, anticlimactic way to close out a career this legendary, but as plenty of pundits have already said, one poor final doesn't touch his overall legacy at all

[Brooke_19]

20 shots and a 1.94 xG to Argentina's 0.20 shows just how one sided this actually was despite the scoreline staying level for so long, Martinez was single handedly keeping his team in it for most of the match

[Daemon55]

The Fernandez red card really was the hinge point of the whole game, Argentina had at least been competitive up to that moment and completely lost their footing playing extra time a man down

[Panther21]

Benching Pedri for the final and getting proven right afterward is exactly the kind of decision that either becomes a genius tactical call or an embarrassing footnote depending purely on the result, glad it worked out for de la Fuente

[Thomas]

Only conceding one goal across the entire tournament until the final whistle blew is an absurd defensive record, that's really the story of Spain's whole campaign more than any single moment in the final itself

[BookerT]

Second half stoppage time send off swinging extra time so decisively in Spain's favor is such a brutal way for a team to lose control of a final they'd actually managed to keep level for so long

[RayOfLight99]

Three finals in four tournaments for Argentina is still a remarkable run even with this result, but losing this one specifically, in Messi's stated last World Cup, is going to sting for a long time regardless of the overall body of work