Spain are champions of the world once more. Luis de la Fuente's side edged Argentina 1-0 after extra time at the MetLife Stadium, Ferran Torres settling one of the most gripping World Cup finals in history with a 106th-minute strike from a Nicholas Williams cross.

La Roja suffocated the defending champions from the first whistle, completing 762 of 852 passes at 89% accuracy and racking up 20 shots before Dibu Martínez could finally be beaten. Argentina, who lost Enzo Fernández to an added-time red card, finished with zero shots on target across the full 120 minutes.

A night that swung on the bench

For 105 minutes the tie looked set to go all the way to penalties. Martínez, reprising his 2022 heroics, made a string of saves that left Spain's supporters fearing the worst. Then de la Fuente emptied his bench, and the substitutions changed everything. Nicholas Williams drifted to the byline and delivered a cross for his fellow substitute Torres, who stroked the ball home.

"I believe destiny was written for us to win today," Torres said afterwards. "When you have Messi on the opposing team, you always get nervous. But we always depended on ourselves, on our own style of football — and we showed it once again."

What it means

Victory gives Spain their second world title, their first since 2010, and completes a golden collection that already includes the European Championship. Rodri lifted the trophy as the tournament's best player, while Unai Simón took the Golden Glove.

For the rest of world football the message is unmistakable: this generation, led by Yamal and Pedri, has the quality and belief to dominate for years. Spain now turn their attention to La Liga and the Champions League, which both resume in August.