Updated July 20, 2026 at 1:41 PM EDT
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Spain has won the FIFA World Cup with a 1-0 extra-time win over Argentina, bringing to a close North America's first time hosting the men's tournament in over three decades.
It is the Spanish men's team's second World Cup title, after winning their first in 2010. And for this squad, the win marked the 38th consecutive match without a loss, a run that includes their trophy in the 2024 European Championship.
They are the most dominant defensive team to win a World Cup; no champion before them had ever conceded only one goal en route to a title. And this Spain team did so with an extra game, as the new, expanded format of the tournament required its champion to play eight matches, a record.
Spain's run to the title came through a wall of top-ten opponents: first a 1-0 win over No. 5 Portugal, then a 2-1 quarterfinal win over No. 9 Belgium, then a 2-0 win in the semifinal over No. 3 France, whose attack had looked unstoppable until then. Argentina had been the world's No. 1 team; with the win, Spain has moved into the top spot.
"I am very happy, I'm ecstatic. I'm flabbergasted. I can't believe it," said Spanish defender Pedro Porro. "A few days are going to have to go by until I will be able to believe it."
On Sunday, Argentina's magic ran out as it attempted to become just the third country to win back-to-back men's World Cup titles. "It really hurts in our soul not being able to take the trophy with us," said Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni after the match.
Spain dominated possession all game, and its defense shut out Argentina almost completely — Argentina recorded zero shots and only two touches in Spain's box through halftime of extra time. Yet for the 90 minutes of regulation, Argentina's defense held firm, with Spain's crosses and attempts broken up by an Argentine shin or cleat or head, and goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez seemingly always in position to stop any shots that got through. (Martínez finished the game with 11 saves, the most ever recorded in a men's World Cup final.)
Then, in stoppage time came the pivotal moment, when a tackle by Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernández on Spain's young star Pau Cubarsí flipped the young defender into the air and hard onto the ground. That earned Fernández his second yellow card of the game, after he received his first for dissent when he publicly disagreed with the referee.
The two yellows combined for a red card, sending Fernández off the field and forcing Argentina to play the 30 minutes of extra time with only ten men.
After recording nearly a dozen shots on target, Spain finally broke through when forward Nico Williams took a cross into the box off his head, sending it back into the empty space in front of his teammate Ferran Torres, who knocked it in for the game's only goal.
In the end, Argentina superstar Lionel Messi could not do enough to push his team to victory.
At 39 years old, Messi's performance in this World Cup had been nothing short of unbelievable: His eight goals and four assists — including assists on both crucial late-game goals in the heart-stopping semifinal against England — was second only to France's Kylian Mbappé in the race for the Golden Boot award. (Mbappé scored twice in Saturday's bronze medal loss to England and finished the World Cup with 10 goals. He is now the all-time World Cup scoring leader with 22 goals)
Asked before the game whether Sunday's final would be Messi's last time wearing the Argentina shirt, coach Lionel Scaloni smiled and shrugged. "I wouldn't know what to tell you. I don't know, because he never stops surprising us," he said.
With the victory, Spain's football program extended its global dominance. The Spanish women are ranked number 1 and are the defending Women's World Cup champions. This is the first time a country has held both titles simultaneously.
The final day of a summer of World Cup fever in North America, the last of 104 matches in total, was a hot and sunny July day in East Rutherford, New Jersey, just outside New York City. On Sunday morning, fans — some in Messi jerseys and others draped in Spain flags — stood in line for bagels, sang on the subway and trains to the stadium, and packed into bars and watch parties, including a crowd of about 50,000 in Central Park.
At MetLife Stadium, where the get-in price for the game had reached five figures in the days leading up to the final, a crowd of 80,663 piled into the stands to watch the final. And they were treated to a World Cup first: a halftime show that lasted around 12 minutes, featuring Shakira, Burna Boy, BTS, Justin Bieber and Madonna.
The halftime show was a nod to American audiences and halftime spectacles like the Super Bowl, but it was controversial to many soccer fans: traditionally, halftime is 15 minutes. This one — between setup and music performances — lasted around 25 minutes. Sports fans have complained that it slows down the natural rhythm of the game; the more severe traditionalists say it's part of the trend to Americanize the game (along with hydration breaks, which effectively create four quarters, similarly to an NFL or NBA game.)
NPR's Jasmine Garsd and Russell Lewis contributed reporting
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