Spain beats Argentina 1-0 to win 2nd World Cup title

Spain has won the 2026 FIFA World Cup after defeating Argentina 1-0 in extra time, becoming world champion for the second time. Ferran Torres scored the only goal after an assist from Nico Williams.

Sunday’s final was played at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Spain controlled much of the match but repeatedly failed to break through Argentina’s defense and goalkeeper, while Argentina did not register a single shot on target during the 90 minutes of regulation time.

The match remained scoreless when Argentina’s Enzo Fernández was sent off near the end of regulation after receiving his second yellow card.

Spain capitalized on its numerical advantage during the second half of extra time. Williams headed the ball into Torres’ path, and he scored the goal that gave Spain the title.

Celebrations erupted across Spain after the final whistle. The victory marks the country’s second World Cup title after its first triumph in 2010.

Spain opened the tournament with a surprising draw against Cape Verde in Group H but recovered with a 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia and a 1-0 win against Uruguay, advancing as the group leader.

Spain defeated Austria 3-0 in the round of 32 before facing Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in one of the most anticipated matches of the round of 16. Mikel Merino scored in the final moments of stoppage time to secure a 1-0 victory.

Spain defeated Belgium 2-1 in the quarterfinals, conceding its only goal of the entire tournament, before beating France 2-0 in the semifinals.

Mikel Oyarzabal finished as Spain’s leading scorer with five goals, ranking seventh among all players at the tournament.

Spain joins Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, France and Uruguay as the only countries to have won the men’s World Cup more than once. Brazil holds the record with five titles, followed by Germany and Italy with four each and Argentina with three.

The 2026 World Cup was the first to feature 48 teams and the first jointly hosted by three countries: the United States, Mexico and Canada.

U.S. President Donald Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attended the final.

The match also featured the first halftime show in a World Cup final. Curated by Coldplay singer Chris Martin, the 18-minute show was headlined by Madonna, Shakira, Justin Bieber and BTS.