For 105 minutes, Emiliano Martínez stood between Spain and the World Cup. Every save gave Argentina another breath. Every scoreless minute kept Lionel Messi within reach of one final escape.
Then Ferran Torres arrived.
The Spanish substitute struck in the 106th minute at New York New Jersey Stadium, turning a loose ball inside the penalty area into the defining goal of the 2026 World Cup final. Nico Williams kept the attack alive by reaching a long delivery near the far side and heading it back into danger. Torres reacted first. He stepped toward the bouncing ball and lashed a rising left footed finish beneath the crossbar.
Martínez had stopped everything else. He could not stop that.
Spain’s 1 to 0 victory secured its 2nd men’s World Cup title and ended Argentina’s attempt to repeat as champion. The scoreline suggested a tense contest decided by one moment. The match itself told a clearer story. Spain dictated the ball, trapped Argentina deep, and kept pressing until its dominance finally produced a goal.
Martínez Keeps Argentina In The Final
Spain made its intentions clear within the opening minutes. Lamine Yamal found space on the right, moved toward the penalty area, and tested Martínez before Argentina had settled into the match.
That early chance established the rhythm. Spain circulated the ball across midfield, stretched Argentina from one side to the other, and waited for gaps to appear. Whenever Argentina tried to step forward, Rodri and Fabián Ruiz recovered possession and started another attack.
Martínez became the central figure in Argentina’s resistance. He denied Spain from close range, reacted sharply to deflections, and commanded his penalty area as the pressure grew. Pedri found shooting space. Aymeric Laporte attacked from set pieces. Williams repeatedly threatened from the left.
The goalkeeper answered each time.
Opta recorded Martínez with 12 saves, the most ever by a goalkeeper in a men’s World Cup final. The statistic explained how Argentina remained level despite spending long periods inside its own half.
Spain produced the first 20 attempts of the match. Argentina did not register a shot during regulation. Martínez turned what could have become a comfortable Spanish victory into an exhausting final that stretched beyond 90 minutes.
Spain Removes Messi From The Game
Spain did not assign one player to follow Messi everywhere. Instead, Luis de la Fuente built a compact structure around the areas the Argentina captain normally uses.
Rodri guarded the central space in front of Laporte and Pau Cubarsí. Fabián Ruiz and Álex Baena pressed Argentina’s midfielders before they could turn. When Messi dropped deeper to receive the ball, Spain closed the passing lanes in front of him and forced play toward the sides.
Laporte and Cubarsí also stepped forward when Messi moved away from the front line. Their aggressive positioning prevented him from receiving the ball and immediately facing goal. Julián Álvarez rarely found room behind them, which left Argentina without the direct runs needed to stretch Spain’s defense.
Messi still searched for openings. He drifted toward the right, dropped into midfield, and tried to combine with Álvarez. Spain always had another shirt nearby.
Possession served 2 purposes. It allowed Spain to create chances, but it also denied Messi the repeated touches he needed to influence the final. Argentina could not counterattack without first winning the ball, and Spain rarely gave it away in vulnerable areas.
The defending champions remained alive because of Martínez, not because they had found a way through Spain.
Fernández Red Card Changes Argentina’s Task
Argentina survived regulation without conceding, but its position became even more difficult during stoppage time.
Enzo Fernández received his 2nd yellow card after a reckless challenge on Cubarsí. The dismissal reduced Argentina to 10 players before extra time and forced Lionel Scaloni to become even more cautious.
Argentina withdrew closer to its own goal. Marcos Senesi entered to reinforce the defense, while Spain continued pushing players into advanced areas.
Williams appeared to break the deadlock in the 96th minute when he put the ball into the net. A foul by Mikel Merino on Nicolás Otamendi erased the goal.
Spain did not allow the decision to disturb its approach. The ball returned to Rodri. The midfield reset. Williams and Yamal stretched the field again.
Argentina had defended for more than 90 minutes and now had to cover the same spaces with 10 players. Spain kept moving the ball, forcing tired defenders to turn, sprint, and recover.
The breakthrough felt increasingly close.
Torres Finally Beats Martínez
De la Fuente introduced Torres in the 62nd minute for Mikel Oyarzabal. The forward had not scored earlier in the tournament, but his movement offered Spain a fresh threat against an Argentina defense already under constant strain.
His decisive chance began when Spain switched the attack toward Williams. The delivery carried beyond the first group of players and appeared ready to escape the danger area. Williams refused to let it go. He reached the ball near the far side, adjusted under pressure, and headed it back across the penalty area.
Argentina’s defenders had started moving away from goal. The return header forced them to turn again.
Torres read the play quicker than anyone. He stepped onto the bouncing ball and drove his finish upward with his left foot. Martínez set himself near the center of the goal, but the shot climbed too fast and too high.
The goalkeeper who had made 12 saves could only watch it fly beneath the crossbar.
During his post match television interview, Torres refused to claim the winning moment as his alone. “It was a goal scored by 47 million people,” he said, connecting the biggest strike of his career to the country celebrating it.
Argentina finally threatened late through a Messi corner. The delivery reached Giuliano Simeone, but his attempt sailed over the crossbar. Spain then managed the closing minutes with the same discipline that had shaped the rest of the final.
Spain Completes A Historic 8 Match Run
Spain’s performance in the final reflected the standard it maintained throughout the expanded tournament.
Across its historic 8 match route to the title, Spain conceded only 1 goal. No men’s World Cup champion has allowed fewer.
That record belonged to the entire team. Unai Simón provided security in goal. Laporte and Cubarsí defended aggressively. Rodri protected the space in front of them. Spain’s forwards pressed early enough to prevent opponents from building attacks comfortably.
Rodri received the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. De la Fuente became the oldest coach to win the men’s World Cup at 65.
The victory also extended Spain’s unbeaten run to 38 matches. That sequence includes 29 wins and 9 draws, a record for a European men’s national team.
Spain completed another historic achievement through the result. Its women won the World Cup in 2023. The country now holds both senior World Cup trophies at the same time, becoming the 1st nation to accomplish that feat.
Torres supplied the final strike, Martínez supplied the resistance, and Spain supplied everything else. Argentina fought for nearly 2 hours to keep the final scoreless, but Spain never stopped asking the same question. Eventually, Torres delivered the answer.
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FAQs
Q1. Who scored the winning goal in the 2026 World Cup final?
A. Ferran Torres scored for Spain in the 106th minute. His extra-time goal secured a 1 to 0 victory over Argentina.
Q2. What was the final score between Spain and Argentina?
A. Spain beat Argentina 1 to 0 after extra time. Neither team scored during the opening 90 minutes.
Q3. How many saves did Emiliano Martínez make?
A. Martínez made 12 saves as Argentina’s goalkeeper. His performance kept the final scoreless until Torres struck in extra time.
Q4. Why was Enzo Fernández sent off?
A. Fernández received a 2nd yellow card after a late challenge on Pau Cubarsí. Argentina entered extra time with 10 players.
Q5. How many men’s World Cups has Spain won?
A. Spain has won 2 men’s World Cups. It claimed its first title in 2010 and added its second in 2026.
