EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – History, they say, might not necessarily repeat itself. But it certainly can rhyme.
Case in point:
On July 11, 2010, Andres Iniesta scored off a volley in the 116th minute to boost Spain to its World Cup title, in a 1-0 win over the Netherlands at Soccer City in Soweto, South Africa. Seven minutes prior, Dutch center back John Heitinga received his second yellow card of the match, resulting in a red card.
On July 19, 2026, Ferran Torres came off the bench to score off a volley in the 106th minute to lift La Roja to a 1-0 victory over Argentina for its second world championship, at MetLife Stadium. Interestingly, three minutes into second-half stoppage time, Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez was assessed his second yellow card after a hard foul on center back Pau Cubarsi, at midfield. The defending champions played the rest of the way with 10 men.
No doubt that the Spaniards were deserved winners, as they dominated the match from the opening kickoff to the final whistle. They recorded a World Cup record seventh clean sheet of the competition and conceded only once in eight matches. It must be considered the greatest team defensive performance of the 96-year history of the tournament.
“I never thought of anything like this,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said. “I always just wanted joy in moments. When you look back at this process, I would not have achieved anything without these players. The journey with this raw material, this talent. Spanish footballers, the way they compete. These players are amazing.”
The result wasn’t easier said than done
Soccer is a sport in which a team can dominate a game and still lose if it doesn’t put away its chances, especially against a hot goalkeeper.
For a good portion of Sunday’s encounter, the Argentines were kept afloat by an excellent performance by goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. He produced 11 saves, some of them spectacular, frustrating Spain time and again.
“If it wasn’t for their keeper, we might’ve had a larger win,” de la Fuente said.
Spain did just about everything on the field but score. The European side shut down the Argentines’ midfield with its never-ending possession and exceptional press.
While its attempts to play through the midfield failed, Argentina tried to play direct soccer with long balls. However, the South Americans did not have the speed up front to turn any of those passes into scoring threats.
The Spaniards’ strategy sounds simple, but the team needs unselfish players who can put their egos aside and play for the team.
Goalkeeper Unai Simon recorded his cup-record seventh shutout as Spain did not concede a shot over 120 minutes. La Roja allowed only one goal in eight encounters. Simon was named winner of the Golden Glove.
On Tuesday, the Spaniards shut out France and the great Kylian Mbappe, who was the Golden Boot winner on the strength of his 10 goals.
On Sunday, they did it to Lionel Messi, considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time, who finished second to Mbappe with eight goals.
Not many, if any, national teams have said that they have stopped the two best scoring threats in the cup over six days.
That’s quite an accomplishment.
The Ferran Torres factor
Sometimes the World Cup brings about unlikely heroes.
Ferran Torres became the latest example on Sunday.
Entering the final, the forward started only once and hadn’t scored. He replaced team leading scorer Mikel Oyarzabal in the 62nd minute.
In the first minute of the second extra time, Ferran etched his name into World Cup history. From the right flank, 19-year-old Lamine Yamal passed the ball to Pedro Porro, who sent in a right-footed cross into the box. Nico Williams, another second-half substitute, headed the ball back toward Torres. With his left foot, Torres drilled a shot past Martinez for what proved to be the lone goal of the encounter.
“I think in the end the goal belongs to 47 million people, not to me,” he said. “Destiny was written; it was made for us to win,” he told the media.
“All finals are difficult, but when you have Messi on the opposing team, that nervousness always sets in, but we depended on ourselves, and we proved it once again.”
Torres, 26, one of eight Barcelona players on the squad, called the goal, “a huge relief.”
“I’ve been heavily criticized throughout the World Cup, but destiny is written, and thank God who always gives me strength to continue,” he said.
De la Fuente was just grateful that Torres came through in the clutch.
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude towards him,” de la Fuente said. “He’s a great footballer. That will help him to mature and be even a greater footballer than what he is. He’s really sacrificed for the collective good. And this is very important in our sport. In my opinion, he’s played a great World Cup. And about Ferran, I think that at the end of the day, life is fair and those people are committed and they fight, they bounce back. … I’m so happy for Him to have scored this goal. He has already made history, and he deserves it.”
The Messi factor or the non-Messi factor
Lionel Messi, who entered the confrontation with eight goals and five assists, was never much of a factor in the match.
But given his history and what Argentina had accomplished in the knockout rounds, we could never count out him and South Americans.
With Spain clinging to that one-goal edge during stoppage time of the second extra time, the 39-year-old legend, the oldest player to compete in a World Cup final, sent a corner kick into the box. Giuliano Simeone, however, skied his attempt well over the crossbar.
“I feel sad,” Messi said. “They were better, to be honest.”
The best defense against Messi is to keep the ball away from him and his teammates. He can’t do anything when Argentina is forced to chase the game.
“We had a game plan where the first idea was to keep Messi at bay but also other players away from our goal,” de la Fuente said. “Something very important was the attitude of our players. We were convinced it was our final and we wanted to go all out for this final. If it wasn’t for their keeper we might’ve had a larger win.”
There have been rumors that Messi might have played his final international match. Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni admitted he did not know of the superstar’s plans.
“Truth be told, I didn’t speak to Leo,” he said.
Meet Rodri, the Golden Ball winner
Not every MVP in soccer has to be the top goal scorer. Sometimes it can a player who is influential on the field with his tactical and technical skills, possession and leadership abilities.
Spain captain and midfielder Rodri fits the bill and then some. His p
Two years ago, the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner ruptured his Achilles tendon. But this World Cup proved that the Manchester City standout has returned to top form.
“It feels like the perfect script. I certainly didn’t expect this,” he said after receiving the award. “This group is incredible. We are two-time world champions. It’s a tough feat, the hardest one to achieve. And we won it against a team like Argentina.”
Rodri, 30, also praised his teammates.
“This group is incredible,” he was quoted by ESPN. “We are two-time world champions. It’s a tough feat, the hardest one to achieve. And we won it against a team like Argentina.
“I’m proud and I would love for new generations to see that it is possible. That a player who touches the sky and then plummets to hell is also capable of rising again. It is an example of overcoming adversity, and you have to believe. Honestly, it’s incredible.”
Even big boys can cry
After his team was outplayed by Spain, Scaloni cried at his postgame press conference.
“It hurts. It hurts my soul. I am sorry,” he said.
That’s how much Scaloni was invested in his team.
It was an emotional defeat for Scaloni and Argentina (7-1-0), which entered the match with seven successive World Cup wins. The Argentines lived on the edge in the knockout round, pulling off four consecutive victories late in the match or in extra time. No team had accomplished that until this tourney.
“I can see that people are aware of what we’ve achieved, how we’ve achieved this, especially because I already cried my heart out in the locker room,” he said. “That’s why I’m not crying now. But I do have to be thankful to this group because they were warriors, and that is the truth. We competed against an amazing team. Every Spanish player who came to greet us, they told us that they were really surprised by how competitive we were. This is very positive, and I hope that future generations also are influenced by this.”
