Spain are World Cup winners for the second time in their history after dominating Argentina in the 2026 final in a way that perhaps we will never see in a major tournament final ever again.

SPAIN 1-0 ARGENTINA — Recap, highlights

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Argentina didn’t attempt their first shot of the game until the 117th minute — 27 minutes into stoppage time, after they had finally gone behind. Spain’s defensive and possession dominance was well chronicled during this tournament, but somehow they seemed to ramp it up to another level in the game that mattered most.

Spain Player Ratings vs Argentina

Unai Simon: 6 – Never had to make a save. Had the best seat in the house for a World Cup final.

Pedro Porro: 7 – Completely owned the right side and forced Argentina to make a change to the starting lineup they never wanted to make in the first place.

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Pau Cubarsi: 7 – Completed 121 passes, which sounds like a fake number but is, in fact, not.

Aymeric Laporte: 7 – Dealt with long balls well, but beyond that had very little to do without the ball.

Marc Cucurella: 7 – Rendered the right side of Argentina practically irrelevant and spent more time in their half than his own.

Rodri: 7.5 – Sure, there wasn’t a ton to be done in midfield (defensively speaking), so he ventured forward more than usual with 16 passes into the final third. Sixteen.

Fabian Ruiz: 6 – Not his best outing, but where was the time and space to pick a pass? There wasn’t.

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Dani Olmo: 6.5 – Ended up more of a midfield workhorse rather than a creative force out of necessity.

Lamine Yamal: 7 – Wasn’t over-awed by the occasion and no one attempted more shots (4) or dribbles (9), but it didn’t quite come off in the end.

Alex Baena: 6 – Started Spain’s final seven games and did a real job down the left, but hardly a difference maker.

Mikel Oyarzabal: 6 – Far from his best game at this tournament, but it was never going to be a day for the center forward given Argentina’s rather negative approach.

Ferran Torres (sub): 7.5 – World Cup-winning goal. Enough said.

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Argentina Player Ratings vs Spain

Emiliano Martinez: 8 – 11 saves in the World Cup final — a record that will probably never be touched, and it was all for naught.

Gonzalo Montiel: 6 – A thoroughly curious choice by Lionel Scaloni, considering Nahuel Molina had started every other (meaningful) game at this tournament and had been nothing short of rock solid. Came off after 58 minutes, perhaps an admission of mistake?

Cristian Romero: 6.5 – Forced off due to injury after chasing shadows for most of his 70 minutes.

Lisandro Martinez: 6.5 – Injured in the first half, forced off in the 44th minute and it was the first crack of Argentina’s otherwise impenetrable defense. A steep climb got steeper and steeper without him and Romero.

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Nicolas Tagliafico: 6.5 – Kept Yamal relatively quiet, even if it came at the expense of his own forays forward.

Rodrigo De Paul: 6 – Zero defensive contributions (tackles, blocks, clearances and interceptions), which is quite astonishing given that’s his specialty.

Alexis Mac Allister: 6 – Second-best to most of his challenges and didn’t link play going forward the way that Argentina needed with precious few opportunities.

Enzo Fernandez: 5.5 – Sent off in second-half stoppage time, and what did he expect after eyeing up Cubarsi for two or three (or four) steps before clattering into him and turning him upside down?

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Nicolas Gonzalez: 5 – Sometimes a gamble doesn’t pay off, and sometimes it really doesn’t pay off.

Lionel Messi: 6 – Not like this. Not. Like. This.

Julian Alvarez: 6 – Completely starved of service and connection up top.