Spain defeat Argentina 1-0 in extra time to win World Cup final

I wouldn’t call that a rapturous reception for Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino, who’ve now walked out onto the field to present the trophy.

The boos were pretty healthy as they made their way along the turf to the stage – although with those two, who’s to say who the jeers were directed at more?

The reaction in the stadium was somewhat muted on the final whistle, given the sizeable majority of Argentina fans in the crowd. They held out hope right ’til the end but with zero on-target shots on goal for the entire match, they might have seen this coming.

The Spanish fans – mostly concentrated up the northern end of the stadium – are jumping for joy and waving their flags as you’d expect.

Now we await the spectacle of Donald Trump awarding the World Cup trophy to Spain, a country he recently said he didn’t want anything to do with, and called “terrible”.

Luis de la Fuente’s formidable side have played eight matches at the 2026 World Cup. Seven of those were clean sheets. The other was a 2-1 quarter-final win over Belgium. It is the fewest goals conceded by a World Cup-winning team.

I don’t even know what else to say about that.

The mood was electric at the Spanish Club in Fitzroy after Spain’s goal. All the wait had finally paid off. The crowd was roaring.

“Oé, oé, oé, oé,” the fans chanted as they bounced on the spot draped in Spanish flags. Chants of “Yo soy español, español” (I am Spanish, Spanish) followed.

Finally, when the full-time whistle blows, the Fitzroy crowd erupts. Fans are standing on tables, jumping and hugging.

“Campeones del mundo,” the fans roar. “World champions”.

It’s a pretty full-on full-time reaction, but he is absolutely laying in to Spain’s players. Scaloni has to delay his tears as he rushes in to break up the fight. And there were tears in his eyes in those dying minutes.

Paredes is red-carded after full-time, in not-dissimilar fashion to the 1990 final when Argentina had two men dismissed (admittedly during the game).

Messi, meanwhile, he still as a statue, unable to comprehend what has just happened. He strokes his stubble, alone in his thoughts.

They get it done, and one goal is all they need.

Argentina have another free kick at the death but it’s on a wing and a prayer.

Spain have conquered world football for the first time since 2010. And they really were flawless, in this match and in almost all the others. There is no disputing that this is a deserved triumph.

In the 120th minute, no less. Messi takes a free kick, off which Simeone sends in a cross that Cubarsi deals with so so well, clearing from the near post with seconds left in regular time of extra time.

Five minutes of added time!

Spain 1-0 Argentina, 120 minutes

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