Spain beat Argentina to lift FIFA World Cup title: Stats
What's the story
Spain have been crowned the 2026 FIFA World Cup champions. Ferran Torres scored the lone goal of this contest in the 106th minute at MetLife Stadium. Argentina were reduced to 10 men in the 93rd minute with the sending off of Enzo Fernandez for a 2nd yellow card. Spain were the better side and finally broke Argentina's resistance to come out triumphs. Here's more.
Honors
2nd World Cup honor for Spain
Spain have won their 2nd World Cup trophy.
Before this, they won the trophy in 2010, beating the Netherlands 1-0 at extra-time.
Spain are now the 7th side to win the World Cup multiple times.
Spain went level with Uruguay and France (2 each).
Only Argentina (3), Italy (4), Germany (4) and Brazil (5) have won more honors.
ARG
Argentina lose their 4th FIFA World Cup final
By beating England 2-1 in the semis, Argentina reached their 7th World Cup final.
Before this edition, they reached the final in 1930, 1978, 1986, 1990, 2014 and 2022 respectively.
Argentina are 3-4 in terms of win-loss record in finals.
Argentina are three-time World Cup winners (1978, 1986 and 2022).
Meanwhile, they have ended as runners-up on four occasions (1930, 1990, 2014 and 2026).
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A unique final between Spain and Argentina
As per Opta, the 2026 World Cup final between Spain and Argentina was the first ever summit clash in this global tournament between the reigning UEFA European champions, and the reigning CONMEBOL Copa America champions.
Records
Brilliant Spain make these records
As per Opta, Spain scored just their 2nd goal in extra time in their World Cup history. Spain did the same in the 2010 edition of the World Cup.
Spain conceded just one goal in their eight games at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It's the fewest goals conceded by any team in a World Cup winning campaign.
Spain kept 7 clean sheets.
Information
Spain extend their unbeaten run to 38 matches
Spain's victory over Argentina extended their unbeaten run to 38 matches across all competitions, setting a record for European nations. Spain surpassed Italy's record for the longest unbeaten run in men's international history (37).
ARG
Argentina fire blanks
Argentina ended the 90 minutes of the final against Spain without a single shot.
Argentina also clocked their lowest possession record (34%) since 1966 and with Dibu Martínez as the player with the most touches of the ball.
Argentina are now the first ever team to fail to have a single shot in 90 minutes in a FIFA World Cup final.
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Messi becomes oldest outfield player with this record
Lionel Messi became the second player to feature in three different FIFA World Cup finals (after Brazil's Cafu), while at 39 years old he's the oldest outfield player to ever play in the final.
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7th trophy for Spain
Spain have won their 7th trophy. Besides two World Cup honors, they have lifted the European Championships four times (1964, 2008, 2012, 2024). Spain also won the UEFA Nations League title in 2023.
Ferran
Torres gets to 25 goals in Spain colors
As per Squawka, Torres is just the second substitute to score the winning goal in a World Cup final after Mario Gotze for Germany in 2014.
Notably, both these goals came in extra-time in 1-0 wins against Argentina.
Torres now has 25 international goals for Spain from 65 matches.
He scored his 3rd World Cup goal and a maiden one in 2026.
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Unwanted record for Argentina's Fernandez
Fernandez is now the 6th player to be sent off in World Cup finals. Pedro Monzon (1990), Gustavo Dezotti (1990), Marcel Desailly (1998), Zinedine Zidane (2006), Johnny Heitinga (2010) are the others. He is also the 3rd Argentine to do so after Monzon and Dezotti.
Information
Match stats after normal time
Argentina had 0 attempts and 0 shots on target in normal time compared to Spain's 15 and 10. Spain completed 583 passes and had 66.30% ball possession. Spain clocked 23 touches in the opposition box. Argentina had two such touches.
Summary
Summary of the contest
Spain dominated the match but couldn't find the back of the net in regular time.
Their first goal was disallowed by VAR for a foul by Mikel Merino on Nicolas Otamendi.
Despite their efforts, Argentina failed to register a single shot on target throughout the match.
Messi remained largely anonymous throughout the game as his team struggled to keep possession of the ball.
Winners
Spain's Cubrasi, Simon and Rodri win awards
Spain's 19-year-old Pau Cubarsi was adjudged Young Player of the Tournament.
His team-mate and goalkeeper Unai Simon collected the Golden Glove award after conceding just one goal all tournament. He kept 7 clean sheets.
Spain skipper and middielder Rodri was crowned Player of the Tournament.