Spain were crowned world champions yesterday, as they beat Argentina 1-0, thanks to a goal from Ferran Torres in the 106^th minute of extra time. They now have two World Cup titles to their names, equalling France and Uruguay. Spain dominated the match throughout the whole 120 minutes, as Argentina failed to record a single shot on target. The only shot Argentina had in the whole match, was a shot from Giuliano Simeone in the 120+1’, which he failed to convert, as his shot went over the goal.

Spain accomplished one of the most dominating displays ever by any team in a World Cup final. Argentina tried to go a different route, by waiting and trying to counterattack. They also tried to put pressure on Spain, making reckless and dangerous challenges, which could have easily injured Spanish players.

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This has been one of the most criticized aspects of the 2026 World Cup, as referees tended to ignore a lot of fouls, benefiting teams who weren’t able to gain control of the ball. Even though the referee, Slavko Vincic, did miss a few calls throughout the first half, the most prominent mistake being when he decided not to book Nicolás Tagliafico after a hard foul on Lamine Yamal, he officiated much better in the second half and in extra time.

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Despite the improvement in the referee’s performance, he still made a mistake, disallowing Nico Williams’ goal in the 97^th minute. Otamendi dived after Mikel Merino made slight contact with him and the referee disallowed the goal.

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Nevertheless, Spain kept pushing forward and finally broke through in the 106^th minute, as Nico Williams assisted Ferran Torres for the winning goal. Spain became the only nation to win two World Cups in the 21^st century and won all the tournament’s individual awards except for the golden boot, as Pau Cubarsí was awarded the Young Player Award, Unai Simón the Golden Glove and Rodrigo Hernández the Golden Ball.

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