Spain 1–0 Argentina: World Cup Final Recap — Spain Are World Champions

Published July 19, 2026 · BettingInNY Staff · Result final — any odds referenced were pre-match; confirm current pricing in-app before wagering

Spain are world champions. At MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Luis de la Fuente's side beat Argentina 1–0 after extra time to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup — Spain's second world title and their first since 2010. The final was goalless through 90 minutes before Ferran Torres settled it in the 106th, finishing a Nico Williams cross. Argentina had Enzo Fernández sent off in a wild late sequence and were kept alive only by Emiliano Martínez, whose tournament-record 10 saves could not force penalties. Spain's seventh clean sheet of the tournament sealed it — a near-exact echo of their 1–0 extra-time win in the 2010 final — while Lionel Messi's last World Cup ended in defeat and 18-year-old Lamine Yamal starred for the new champions.

The tournament is over and Spain have the trophy — but the board resets fast. Next World Cup futures and the new NFL season are already priced at New York's licensed books.

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How the final was won

For 90 minutes, the 2026 World Cup final gave up nothing. Spain controlled the ball in the way that has defined their run, Argentina sat deep and threatened on the break, and the sides reached full time level at 0–0. Spain thought they had broken through more than once — a Ferran Torres finish was ruled out for offside and a Nico Williams goal was also disallowed — but the match went to extra time goalless.

The breakthrough finally came in the 106th minute. Nico Williams broke down the flank and stood up a cross to the far post, where Ferran Torres arrived to sweep it home — 1–0 Spain, and the goal that would win the World Cup. Williams had earlier had a header saved; this time his delivery was the decisive one.

Argentina's response turned frantic. Chasing an equaliser, the reigning champions lost Enzo Fernández to a red card in a wild late sequence, and a man short they could not find the goal that would have taken the final to penalties. The one player keeping them in it was Emiliano Martínez, whose tournament-record 10 saves repeatedly denied Spain a second and dragged Argentina to the edge of extra-time survival.

It finished 1–0. The clean sheet was Spain's seventh of the tournament — the platform for a run built on control and defensive discipline — and it made La Roja world champions for the second time.

Champions again: Spain's second title

This was Spain's first World Cup since 2010 — and it arrived in almost the same shape. Sixteen years ago in South Africa, Spain won the final 1–0 after extra time, Andrés Iniesta scoring the only goal in the 116th minute. In New Jersey they did it again: a single goal, deep into extra time, and a defense that would not break. Two World Cups, two 1–0 extra-time finals, one trophy each time.

The night also closed a chapter. Lionel Messi's final World Cup ended in defeat, unable to add a second title to the one he lifted in 2022. At the other end of the age scale, 18-year-old Lamine Yamal starred for Spain — the standout of a new generation that now has a world title of its own. Argentina, so often the team that finds a way, met a Spain side that gave them nothing.

The 2026 final in the record books

Where Sunday's result sits alongside recent World Cup finals:

2026

USA / Canada / Mexico
Spain 1-0 Argentina (AET)
Ferran Torres scores in the 106th; Spain's second world title, first since 2010.
2022

Qatar
Argentina 3-3 France (Argentina 4-2 on penalties)
Mbappé hat-trick, Messi clinches first WC title.
2018

Russia
France 4-2 Croatia
Mbappé becomes first teenager to score in a Final since Pelé.
2014

Brazil
Germany 1-0 Argentina (AET)
Götze's 113th-minute winner; Messi and Argentina fall just short.
2010

South Africa
Spain 1-0 Netherlands (AET)
Iniesta scores the only goal in the 116th minute.
2006

Germany
Italy 1-1 France (Italy 5-3 on penalties)
Zidane headbutt + retirement; Italy lift the trophy.

Extra time again: three of the last seven World Cup finals — 2026, 2014 and 2010 — were settled in extra time by a single goal.

What's next for New York bettors

With the trophy lifted, the World Cup markets give way to what comes next. The next World Cup cycle will have qualifying and outright futures on the board before long, and closer to home the new NFL season is the next major market to open at New York's licensed mobile books. The rules are the same as they were all tournament: you must be 21 or older and physically inside New York state to place a wager, and geolocation runs at session start and periodically during play.

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