Spain Decimates Argentina, Lifts 2026 FIFA World Cup
In a one-sided match virtually, Spain defeated the reigning champions, Argentina, in the final and lifted the 2026 FIFA World Cup Sunday July 19, 2026.
2026 FUFA World Cup: In a one-sided match virtually, Spain defeated the reigning champions, Argentina, in the final and lifted the 2026 FIFA World Cup Sunday July 19, 2026.
Spain have become world champions for the second time in their history, Luis de la Fuente’s men beating Argentina 1-0 in Sunday’s FIFA World Cup 2026 played at the final in New York New Jersey.
US President Donald Trump, his wife Melenia Trump and thousands of football fans were present when Spain denied Lionel Messi led Argentina the second world cup in a row.
Spain dominated the game from start to finish, 20 shots and 11 on target, and 68% possession as against Argentina’s just 3 and 32%, the statistics say all. But they still had to wait until the 106th minute to finally find a way past Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, the only player seemed to be having standing against the Spanish Victory.
The Argentina goalkeeper made a series of saves to thwart La Roja but had no chance when Nico Williams nodded down a Pedro Porro cross at the far post and Ferran Torres buried a first-time shot into the roof of the net.
Mbappe takes away Adidas Golden Boot
Spain versus Argentina 2026 Football World Cup proved disastrous for Lionel Messi on the personal level too.
The Argentina captain was leading the race to become the highest goal scorer and was sure to win the Adidas Golden Boot. Already scored 08 goals, he needed to hit a hat-trick to surpass France Captain Kylian Mbappe. Messi, however, could not shine when the time demanded. Messi who scored goals in all the earlier matches of Argentina failed to ripple the nets in the last three matches.
The result is that Kylian Mbappe won the Adidas Golden Boot scoring 10 goals. Mbappe is the first ever player to win the LaLiga Golden Boot, UEFA Champions League Golden Boot and FIFA World Cup Golden Boot - all in the same season.
Key Highlights
- Spain has conceded only goal in the 2026 world cup. This is the lowest for a World Cup-winning team in a single edition of the tournament.
- Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon has set a record for most clean sheets in a World Cup tournament with seven.
- Spain’s Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi, both 19, are the fourth and fifth teenagers to have played in a World Cup final. As with Pele (aged 17 in 1958), Giuseppe Bergomi (18 in 1982) and Kylian Mbappe (19 in 2018), they have all ended up on the winning side.
- At 65 years and 28 days old, Luis de la Fuente has become the oldest World Cup-winning coach, surpassing the mark of his compatriot Vicente del Bosque who was 59 years and 220 days when winning Spain's first world title.
- Spain are the first team to be reigning champions of both the men's and women's World Cups at the same time, having won the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2023.
- At 39 years and 25 days old, Lionel Messi became the oldest outfield player to appear in a World Cup final, breaking the record of Sweden’s Gunnar Gren, who faced Brazil in 1958 aged 37 years and 241 days. Substitute Nicolas Otamendi beat Gren's record too to become the second-oldest outfield player (38 years, 157 days).
- Messi is also now the second player to have appeared in three World Cup finals, doing so in 2014, 2022 and 2026, after Brazil’s Cafu, who played in the 1994, 1998, 2002 deciders.
- La Roja are undefeated in regular time in their last 38 matches (W29 D9), having not lost since 22 March 2024, when they succumbed 1-0 to Colombia in a friendly in London. This is their longest-ever unbeaten sequence and has beaten Italy’s record for a European nation of 37, set between October 2018 and September 2021; it was Spain who ended that run by triumphing 2-1 in a UEFA Nations League encounter on 6 October 2021.
With this, the 2026 Football World Cup which was opened on June 11, 2026 came to an end. The football world cup 2026 was the first hosted by three countries - Canada, Mexico and the United States and featured 48 teams.
The next football world cup will in 2030. Interestingly, 2030 FIFA World Cup will be played in six countries across three continents - Africa, Europe and South America. According to the FIFA’s proposed schedule for the 2030 Football World Cup, centenary matches will be played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay on June 8 and 9, followed by the opening matches in Morocco, Portugal and Spain on June 13 and 14, 2030.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia will be sole host of the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
[With inputs from FIFA.]
[Zohair Mohammed Safwan Faizee is Staff Writer at ummid.com]
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