Spain won the FIFA World Cup for a second time on Sunday, 19 July 2026, beating Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the final at New York New Jersey Stadium, East Rutherford. The victory came in front of a crowd of over 80,000, with Spain crowned FIFA World Cup champions having previously won the title in 2010. Substitute Ferran Torres scored the winning goal in the 106th minute, settling a contest that remained goalless through normal time.
The result denied Argentina, the defending champions, a second consecutive title, and closed out what was Lionel Messi’s likely final World Cup appearance. Following the final, official tournament awards were announced, with Spain’s Rodri receiving the Golden Ball, Unai Simón the Golden Glove, and Pau Cubarsí the Young Player award. The tournament, the first to be co-hosted by three nations, drew a record 6,810,966 spectators across its 23rd edition.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez reacted to the win on his official X account, writing: “WE ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS!! Huge, our National Team! Thank you, team”, posted shortly after the final whistle on 19 July 2026.
The Royal Football Federation of Spain’s national team account also posted on X following the win, describing the squad as “bicampeones del mundo” (“two-time world champions”), reflecting the team’s first title since 2010.
King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, and their daughters, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía, attended the final in East Rutherford and were present for the post-match celebrations on the pitch. The Spanish royal household issued a statement on social media describing the result as a triumph that would remain part of the history of Spanish sport.
Spain controlled the contest from the outset, dominating possession and restricting Argentina to no shots on target across the 90 minutes of normal time. Argentina’s goalkeeper, Emiliano Martínez, kept the score level with a series of saves, and the match went into extra time still goalless. In the second half, Argentina’s Enzo Fernández was shown a second yellow card and sent off, leaving his side to play the closing stages of normal time and extra time with ten men. Ferran Torres, who had been introduced from the substitutes’ bench, broke the deadlock with a finish in the 106th minute, giving Spain the lead they would not relinquish.
The final was only the second meeting between Spain and Argentina at a World Cup, the first having come in the 1966 group stage, which Argentina won 2-1. It was also the first World Cup final to feature the two reigning continental champions, with Spain having won the 2024 UEFA European Championship and Argentina the 2024 Copa América.
The win takes Spain’s tally of FIFA World Cup titles to two, following their first triumph in South Africa in 2010. It extends the team’s unbeaten run in international football to 38 matches, a sequence that also includes their 2024 European Championship victory, and makes Spain the first nation to hold both the men’s and women’s FIFA World Cup titles at the same time, following the women’s team’s win in 2023.
Tournament context
The 2026 edition was the largest in the competition’s history, expanded to 48 teams and jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. Spain went through the tournament unbeaten, winning seven of their eight matches and conceding only once, a defensive record that FIFA’s official tournament reporting noted as among the strongest of any champion side. Kylian Mbappé of France finished as the tournament’s top scorer.
