Spain Beat Argentina in Extra Time to Win the Football World Cup

The Spanish national team won the football World Cup final, beating Argentina 1:0 after extra time. The only goal came in the 106th minute, scored by Ferran Torres, who finished off a pass from Nico Williams. The match was watched by 80,663 spectators, with the stadium filled to capacity.

The tournament, hosted for the first time in history by three countries at once — the United States, Canada and Mexico — ended in triumph for the Spaniards. It is the second world title in the history of the Spanish national team, following their 2010 victory. Argentina, the defending champions, failed to retain their crown: the team put in an unimpressive performance, and shortly before the end of regular time, Enzo Fernández received a second yellow card and was sent off after an unnecessary foul. By the time Torres scored, the shots-on-goal statistics were lopsided — 20:0 in Spain's favour.

Argentina's leader Lionel Messi had almost no impact on the match, and the team was further weakened by injuries and forced substitutions. Closer to the 120th minute, the Argentines did manage to create a few chances, but it was already too late.

The undisputed star of the Spanish squad at the tournament was midfielder Rodri, the Ballon d'Or holder, who recovered from a serious knee injury and played the World Cup without a single mistake, showing composure well beyond his years. His former club coach, Pep Guardiola, had predicted even before the tournament began that Rodri would peak in form precisely in time for the World Cup.

Spain's head coach, Luis de la Fuente, built his squad around players he knew personally, including eight from Barcelona, and shaped the team's play around collective effort rather than individual stars. Throughout the entire tournament, Spain conceded just one goal — to Belgium's De Ketelaere in the quarter-finals — and in the semi-final they comfortably beat tournament favourites France 2:0, cementing their status as the top contenders for the title heading into the final.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz