The first dangerous moment in the match, which took place in East Rutherford, was created by the Spaniards in the fifth minute – Lamin Yamal shot into the near corner and forced goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to show his worth.
And then the Spanish team was more active. In the 39th minute, Mikel Oyarzabal sent a low shot into the center from an advantageous position, but Martinez was alert. And soon Mark Kukureya shot close to the bar.
During the break of the final match, for the first time in the history of the World Cup, there was a show in which Justin Bieber, Madonna, Shakira and BTS performed, among others.
At the beginning of the second half, Alex Baena tested Martinez’s readiness with a long-range strike. In the 67th minute, Ferran Torres, who came on as a substitute, finished off Yamal’s serve – again the Argentina goalkeeper came to the rescue. Martinez also saved his team after shots from Pedri, Pau Kubarsi, Aymeric Laporte and Nico Williams.
In stoppage time, Enzo Fernandez received a second yellow card from the Argentina national team and was sent off. In the eighth minute of stoppage time, Lamin Yamal aimed a free kick at the top nine, but Martinez stood tall and deflected the ball for a corner.
Argentina never had a shot on goal in regulation time. The Spaniards had 15 shots and 10 on target. The game went into extra time.
And in the first extra time everything went under the dictation of the Spaniards. Martinez made another save from Williams’ shot. And then the Spain national team forward scored a goal, but the referee did not count it due to a violation of the rules.
Moreno missed another chance, shooting from the “second floor” next to the bar.
And in the second extra time, the Spaniards finally hit the target and the goal was counted. Williams, almost from the baseline, threw the ball into the center, and the running Torres drove the ball under the crossbar. The twentieth strike of the Spanish national team was effective. Argentina still didn’t have one at that time.
And after that the South Americans got excited and tried to save the game. In the 117th minute, Messi shot from outside the penalty area and opened the scoring for the Argentines. Then Giuliano Simeone shot dangerously across the Spaniards’ goal. After which he shot from an advantageous position just above the crossbar.
And yet the Spaniards endured and became world champions for the second time in history. The Pyrenees won their first title in 2010.
After the final, the Spanish team was awarded the World Cup. The ceremony was attended by US President Donald Trump and the head of the International Football Federation (FIFA) Gianni Infantino.
The Spanish national team is equal in the number of championship titles with France and Uruguay. Now only Brazil (5 wins), Germany (4), Italy (4) and Argentina (3) are ahead of the Spaniards.
Spain conceded only one goal at the 2026 World Cup – a record for world championships.
The England team won bronze medals at the 2026 World Cup, beating France 6:4 in the match for third place.
Spaniard Rodri became the best player of the 2026 World Cup
France forward Kylian Mbappe became the top scorer of the 2026 World Cup. He scored 10 goals. Messi took second place in the list of scorers with 8 goals. The third place was shared by Norwegian Erling Haaland and Englishman Jude Bellingham, who scored 7 goals each.
Mbappe is the top scorer in the history of the World Cup – he scored 22 goals in 22 matches at the world championships.
Spanish defender Pau Kubarsi became the best young football player of the 2026 World Cup. Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon was named the best goalkeeper of the 2026 World Cup. And the best football player of the tournament, who received the Golden Ball, was also the representative of Spain – midfielder Rodri.
The Spain – Argentina match with commentary in Russian was shown on the ETV+ channel and the Rus.ERR portal. ERR sports journalists Igor Savelyev and Alexey Margiev commented.
Before the match
This is the first time in history that the defending champions of Europe and South America will meet in a World Cup final.
For Argentina, this is a chance to become the third team in history to win two World Cups in a row (after Italy 1934-1938 and Brazil 1958-1962). For Spain – an opportunity to take the second title in history.
The Spaniards were world champions in 2010, and the Argentines have won the World Cup three times (1978, 1986, 2022).
The rivals met in official meetings once – in 1966 as part of the group stage of the World Cup. Then the Argentine team won with a score of 2:1.
In the 1/16 finals of the 2026 World Cup, the Spaniards defeated Austria (3:0), in the 1/8th they knocked out Portugal (1:0), in the quarterfinals they beat Belgium (2:1) and in the semifinals they confidently beat France (2:0).
In the 1/16 finals, the Argentines defeated Cape Verde in extra time with a score of 3:2, in the 1/8th they beat Egypt (3:2), in the quarterfinals they knocked out Switzerland in extra time (3:1) and in the semifinals they beat England (2:1).