By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — This is how good Spain was at the World Cup: Not even Lionel Messi had any answers.
And when it was over, Spain walked off with the trophy. Messi simply walked off in tears.
Spain is back atop the soccer world for a second time, after Ferran Torres’ first goal of this year’s World Cup — unquestionably the goal of his life — gave his country a 1-0 win over now-dethroned champion Argentina in the final on Sunday.
“It was a goal scored by 47 million people,” Torres said, referring to Spain’s population.
Maybe not by them — but certainly for them.
It denied Messi a second straight title in what he has indicated was his final World Cup match. Torres, a second-half substitute, pounced on a bouncing ball in the box and used his left foot to bury a shot just under the crossbar in the 106th minute.
From there, the airtight defense that dominated opponents throughout the tournament came through one final time. Spain — which also won the title in 2010 — allowed only one goal in eight matches in this World Cup run, setting a record for fewest goals allowed by a champion.
“I feel pride, to be honest,” said Spain coach Luis de la Fuente, who at 65 is now the oldest man to lead a team to a World Cup title. “Accompanying them on this journey is an honor.”
Spain gets a World Cup 1st
This title, combined with the Women’s World Cup won by Spain in 2023, makes the European nation the first to hold both the men’s and women’s titles simultaneously.
“I feel sad,” said Messi, who was moved to tears after receiving his runner-up medal and staring into the crowd at Argentina supporters. “But I am aware that we played our hearts out.”
The score indicates this match was close, but only one team was in command.
Spain took the game’s first 20 shots on goal before Argentina — desperate for an equalizer — got its first attempt off in the second half of extra time. Spain took nine of the game’s first 10 corner kicks, and only a World Cup final-record 12 saves by Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez gave the 2022 champions a shot at going back-to-back.
“Dibu was nothing short of exceptional,” de la Fuente said, referring to Argentina’s keeper by his nickname.
Spain is now unbeaten in its last 38 matches — 29 wins, nine draws — and now is the outright holder of the longest such streak by any European men’s team ever. Italy went 37 matches (28 wins, nine draws) from October 2018 through September 2021, before Spain ended that streak.
And for the last two-plus years, nobody has beaten Spain. Not even Messi. An Argentina team that was the kings of the late-game rally in this tournament had no answer this time.
“We lost the game, and we accept that,” Messi said. “That doesn’t mean that we will forget everything we’ve done so far, so I’d like to thank my people, my players and the country. I can tell them that we played our hearts out.”
Spain survives a late push
Messi took a corner kick with about four minutes left before the final whistle and the ball took a fortunate skip toward substitute Giuliano Simeone — who sent it high and over the crossbar, holding his head in disbelief afterward.
“When you have Messi on the other side, well, you are nervous,” Torres said. “At the end of the day, we always depended on us. We always come up with our football, and we showed it again.”
There was some pushing and shoving after the final whistle, which was quickly cleaned up and Spain commenced its celebration as most Argentina players sat solemnly on the turf. Cooler heads prevailed, and Spain’s players lined up minutes later to form an honor guard of sorts for Argentina’s squad to walk through on its way to the stage for the runner-up medals from President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
“I think now I’m in a cloud,” said Spain midfielder Rodri, the Golden Ball winner as the tournament’s best player.
Argentina was forced to finish the match with only 10 players after Enzo Fernandez was sent off in second-half stoppage time after getting his second yellow card. Fernandez was carded for a reckless play that sent Spain defender Pau Cubarsi cartwheeling into the air, and the card came out immediately.
Defense led Spain to a title
It was the 104th and last match of the biggest World Cup ever, a 48-team event that played out over the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Because there were more matches than any previous World Cup, it was no surprise that there were more goals than all other editions — more than 300, nearly three per match.
Except, of course, when Spain was involved. Spain’s plan was simple and flawless: Hold the ball as much as possible, denying opponents any hint of chances.
It worked, all the way to the end.
“There is sadness, but also the knowledge that we gave it our all,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “I could say a lot about how we got here, but it’s not worth it. I am eternally grateful to these guys; they competed right to the end. The other team was better.”
Spain had to go through the game’s greatest player — maybe ever — to prove that.
Messi is 39 and the math certainly suggests that the Inter Miami star is at the end of his international career. There have been hints — such as Messi himself declaring that a home World Cup qualifying match against Venezuela last year would be his final competitive contest for Argentina on his nation’s soil.
“We would have loved to have won, but I’m thankful,” Messi said. “‘Thanks’ is the only word I have — and sadness.”
He retired from the national team after losing a Copa America final to Chile — in the same stadium he played in Sunday — a decade ago, then came back a few weeks later after changing his mind.
Good thing he did, because in that decade he went from superstar to absolute icon.
There was the World Cup title in 2022. There were two Copa America titles, the first in 2021 and the second in 2024. He won Argentina’s player of the year award 16 times in a span of 19 years, first winning it as a teenager and continuing to win it all the way into his late 30s.
He’s a legend within the game and on all corners of the globe. But Spain was better Sunday.
“I spoke to my players, and they said: ‘Look, we’ve won everything, coach. We’ve won everything,’” de la Fuente said. “And that is beautiful.”
A final unlike any other
The spectacle was not limited to simply soccer. There was a halftime show, a first for FIFA. There were a ton of celebrities there from stage, screen and sports: Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Cillian Murphy, Daniel Craig, Stephen Curry, Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Brunson, Kevin Durant, Serena Williams, Carlos Alcaraz, David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and dozens more.
They came to see a show. So did 80,000 other people, not to mention perhaps as many as 2 billion watching around the globe.
Spain didn’t disappoint. No team has won back-to-back men’s World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962, and Spain kept Argentina from pulling off that repeat.
“As I told the lads before the game, we have to go for the game, we need to face them, we have to look to their eyes and say we want this game,” Rodri said. “And then, life gives you the World Cup or not.”
Spain took it instead.
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