Editor’s Note: The author was on site in East Rutherford, New Jersey
A tactical masterclass from Luis de la Fuente.
Football has a funny way of rewarding the team that actually plays the better game, and on Sunday it did exactly that. Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 at New York New Jersey Stadium to lift the 2026 FIFA World Cup, securing the country’s second world title.
The scoreline barely reflected what unfolded on the pitch. Spain completely erased Lionel Scaloni’s side, although it took until the second period of extra time to finally break through. Ferran Torres’ thunderous finish ended Emiliano “Dibu” MartÃnez’s heroic resistance and perhaps brought the curtain down on Lionel Messi’s legendary international career.
Luis de la Fuente keeps adding trophies as if he’s collecting trading cards: Olympic gold in Paris 2024, the UEFA European Championship, and now the World Cup. The numbers told the whole story: 20 shots to Argentina’s two, 68 percent possession, and complete control from start to finish. After the final whistle, tempers flared with pushes, kicks and plenty of frustration. Even bad losers wanted to leave with something.
The Pre-Game
The day began under sweltering heat in New Jersey, less than 24 hours after storms threatened the buildup to the final. Long before kickoff, the event had already turned into a full-scale entertainment production.
IShowSpeed and Post Malone opened the ceremony in front of a packed crowd of 80,663 fans.
Jennifer Hudson delivered a flawless rendition of the U.S. national anthem before Robbie Williams, Laura Pausini and Nicole Scherzinger kept the show rolling. The World Cup trophy entered the stadium escorted by Andrés Iniesta, Mario Kempes and tennis star Carlos Alcaraz inside a Louis Vuitton case. Tom Cruise even made an appearance to remind everyone this World Cup had been about “joy and greatness,” before Bruce Buffer shook the stadium with his iconic:
“It’s Tiiiiime!”
There was just one small problem.
Football still hadn’t shown up.
And when it finally did, only one team bothered to play it.
First Half Snoozefest
Spain immediately took control, pressing high, dominating possession and moving the ball with patience. Argentina struggled to string together simple passes and looked increasingly uncomfortable.
Ironically, nearly 80 percent of the crowd wore Argentina’s colors, turning the stadium into a temporary extension of Buenos Aires.
The first half offered more entertainment in the stands than on the field. Neither Messi nor Lamine Yamal managed to influence the game, and halftime looked far more like a Super Bowl performance than a World Cup final. Madonna, Ronaldo Nazário, Ronaldinho, BTS, Ted Lasso, Justin Bieber and Shakira all took center stage.
Everything was perfect.
Except the football.
Spain Turns Up the Heat; A Dibu Messiah
The second half quickly turned into a Spanish monopoly. Argentina retreated deeper and deeper, making substitutions and hoping for a miracle.
That miracle had a name.
Emiliano MartÃnez.
“Dibu” repeatedly denied Ferran Torres, Nico Williams, Laporte and Pedri, single-handedly keeping Argentina alive despite his team offering virtually nothing going forward.
Had someone predicted before kickoff that Argentina wouldn’t register a single shot on target by the 75th minute, they probably would’ve been laughed at.
Yet that’s exactly what happened.
As Spain continued creating chance after chance, Spanish supporters summed up the evening with one simple chant:
“Argentina is scared!”
Time kept ticking away without a goal. Fans grew restless. Considering ticket prices ranged anywhere from $4,000 to $10,000, many probably felt the halftime show had delivered better value than the match itself.
Extra-Time Agony
Extra time brought even more suffering for Argentina after Enzo Fernández was sent off. Scaloni essentially parked the bus, hoping somehow to survive until penalties.
And for a while… It almost worked.
Nico Williams even thought he had scored the winner before the goal was ruled out in a controversial decision, prompting Spanish fans to loudly chant: “This is a robbery!”
But football eventually corrected itself.
Early in the second period of extra time, Nico Williams delivered another dangerous cross, finding Ferran Torres inside the box.
This time there would be no miracle from MartÃnez. Torres blasted the ball into the roof of the net, finally giving Spain the goal it had deserved for nearly two hours.
Yes, the Better Team Won
Argentina simply never showed up. Spain did.
Torres even found the net again minutes later, only for the goal to be ruled offside… as if this final needed one last dose of drama.
Messi tried to produce one final moment before the end, but Spain’s defense slammed the door shut.
The final whistle sparked a brief confrontation between players, though by then history had already been written.
Spain were world champions once again.
And this time, there wasn’t much to debate.
The better team won.
