Jul 20, 2026, 05:01 IST
They came to New Jersey as history-makers. They left as world champions.Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in a tense, dramatic World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Sunday night, with Ferran Torres’ second-half strike separating the two sides and delivering Spain their second World Cup title, 16 years after their first in South Africa in 2010.But the trophy was not the only piece of history made on Sunday night. In winning the final, Spain extended their unbeaten run to 38 consecutive matches in all competitions, surpassing Italy’s 37-game record and becoming the team with the longest unbeaten run in the history of European and South American international football. No team from either continent has ever gone longer without a defeat.Torres, who had endured a difficult tournament by his own high standards before this final, delivered the most important goal of his career. Picking up a perfectly weighted pass from Pedri on the edge of the Argentina penalty area in the 67th minute, the Manchester City forward took one touch to control and drilled a precise low effort past Emiliano Martínez and into the bottom corner. MetLife Stadium, packed with red and yellow, erupted.Argentina pushed. Lionel Messi, playing the final match of his international career, drove forward repeatedly, creating moments and demanding the ball as he always does. But Spain’s defence, six clean sheets in six previous matches, the best defensive record in World Cup history was not about to crack on the biggest night of all. Unai Simón made two crucial saves in the final ten minutes to preserve the clean sheet and send the trophy to Spain.For Messi, it is a painful ending to a career of extraordinary beauty. He finishes the 2026 World Cup with eight goals and four assists, one of the greatests individual tournament statistics in World Cup history. But Argentina’s second consecutive title was not to be.For Spain, unbeaten in 38 matches, European champions in 2024 and now world champions in 2026, the record books belong to them entirely.Italy’s record stood for five years. Spain broke it on the biggest stage of all with a World Cup trophy in their hands.
