Spain Beat Argentina 1-0 After Extra Time to Win World Cup 2026

Spain are World Cup champions once again. They beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the final at MetLife Stadium, ending the defending champions' bid for back-to-back titles.

The game stayed goalless through 90 tense minutes. Argentina defended deep and made life hard for Spain, who dominated the ball but couldn't find a breakthrough in normal time. The deadlock finally broke in the 106th minute, when substitute Ferran Torres struck to send the Spanish bench into wild celebration. It proved to be the only goal of the game.

Argentina's night got worse in the closing stages. Enzo Fernandez was shown a second yellow card in the 90th minute and sent off, leaving Argentina to play the rest of extra time with ten men. It capped a card-heavy night for the South Americans, who picked up six yellow cards in total through Lisandro Martinez (41'), Leandro Paredes (52'), Fernandez (82' and again at 90'), Cristian Romero (90') and Alexis Mac Allister (111'), on top of the red card.

The stats show just how one-sided this final was. Spain had 68% possession and fired 20 shots at goal, 11 of them on target. Argentina managed only 3 shots all game and failed to hit the target even once. Spain also completed 803 passes at 90% accuracy, well clear of Argentina's 445 passes at 78%.

This is Spain's second World Cup title, adding to their 2010 win. It also extends their unbeaten run to 38 matches, a new all-time record for a men's national team, moving past Italy's old mark. For Argentina, the loss ends their reign as champions and denies them a shot at joining Brazil as the only side to win back-to-back World Cups.

Spain's golden generation, built around young stars like Lamine Yamal, now have a World Cup title to show for their dominant run through the tournament.