Spain’s dominance over world football reached its peak at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, as La Roja dispatched defending champions Argentina, courtesy of a Ferran Torres extra-time strike, to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The victory took Spain’s unbeaten run to 38 matches, the longest active unbeaten international streak in men’s football.

For all the momentum Messi’s Argentina rode into the final with, it was all Spain in the match, right from the opening minutes of the game, with goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez making a flurry of routine saves to keep an evidently superior Spanish side at bay in what ended as an uneventful, if not boring, first half.

The second half was no different, as Spain controlled the match, forcing Martínez into save after save. The pendulum, however, shifted completely in Spain’s favour when Enzo Fernández received a second yellow card for his late challenge on Pau Cubarsí, reducing an already outplayed Argentina side to 10 men in the 93rd minute. Consequently, Spain almost wrapped up the game from a brilliant Lamine Yamal free-kick late on, but Martínez was once again equal to it, using both hands to turn the shot around the post before the ensuing corner was also dealt with by the 10 men.

The effort was Spain’s 10th shot on target from 15 attempts, in stark contrast to Argentina’s underwhelming display, with the reigning champions failing to register a single shot on target throughout the 90 minutes.

About five minutes into extra time, fortune seemed to shine on Spain when substitute Nico Williams reacted quickest to strike into an empty net. However, the goal was chalked off after Mikel Merino was adjudged to have fouled Nicolás Otamendi in the build-up.

Eventually, the breakthrough came in the 106th minute through another substitute, Ferran Torres, who latched onto Williams’ headed knockdown before firing beyond Martínez into the roof of the net for the winner and Spain’s second FIFA World Cup title.

Meanwhile, during halftime, the first-ever halftime show in FIFA World Cup history took centre stage, with global pop stars Madonna, BTS, Justin Bieber, Shakira and Nigeria’s Burna Boy delivering a landmark performance that added another layer of spectacle to an already historic final.

Burna Boy & Shakira PERFORM “DAI DAI” AT THE FIFA WORLD CUP FINAL HALFTIME SHOW! 🔥🏆 pic.twitter.com/mOXLYFOLsq

— BOUNCE (@bouncenetworks) July 19, 2026