{"id":6947,"date":"2026-07-19T22:25:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T22:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/?p=6947"},"modified":"2026-07-19T22:25:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T22:25:10","slug":"4-takeaways-after-spain-beats-argentina-in-extra-time-to-win-2026-fifa-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/?p=6947","title":{"rendered":"4 Takeaways After Spain Beats Argentina In Extra Time To Win 2026 FIFA World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"subnav-title ff-ffc bold fs-23 lh-25 uc pd-b-10\">\n            POPULAR SEARCHES\n          <\/p>\n<p class=\"subnav-title ff-ffc bold fs-23 lh-25 uc pd-b-10\">\n            BROWSE BY\n          <\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14><strong>NEW YORK NEW JERSEY STADIUM \u2014 <\/strong>Spain stands alone on top of the world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>La Roja won their second World Cup title on Sunday \u2014 Spain\u2019s first since 2010 \u2014 by defeating Lionel Messi and 10-man Argentina on Ferran Torres\u2019s goal in the second half of extra time following a scoreless first 90 minutes \u2014 and denying the Albliceleste\u2019s bid to become the first country to repeat as World Cup champions since Pele led Brazil to back-to-back titles in 1958 and 1962.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Spain dominated the match from start to finish. They out-shot the Argentines, who lost Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez to a second yellow card before the additional 30 minutes began, by an astounding 20-0 and forced keeper Emiliano Mart\u00ednez to make 11 saves, a new World Cup final record. Yet it took Torres\u2019s goal in the 106th minute to defeat the defending champs \u2014 and probably end Messi\u2019s career on the biggest stage in sports.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Here are four takeaways from Sunday\u2019s dramatic World Cup final.<\/p>\n<p><span>(Photo by Europa Press Sports\/Europa Press via Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>As they did against England in last week\u2019s semifinal win in Atlanta, Argentina\u2019s fans badly outnumbered Spain\u2019s among the 80,663 who attended Sunday&#8217;s finale. Most neutral supporters in attendance and watching across the globe probably wanted to see Messi win another World Cup, too, further cementing his legacy as the greatest soccer player of all time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Although they ended up disappointed, La Roja thoroughly deserved to win this World Cup.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>The pre-tournament favorites were never flashy over their five-plus week stay in North America. They didn\u2019t have the panache of France, or the pure star power of other nations \u2014 even though they fielded teenage sensation Lamine Yamal. Spain was nevertheless the best team at this World Cup. They showed that by rendering France toothless and eliminating Les Bleus with relative ease to reach Sunday\u2019s decider, where they also badly outplayed Argentina. The score was close, but the stats weren\u2019t: Even before Fern\u00e1ndez was sent off in stoppage time with a second yellow card, Yamal &amp; Co. had controlled nearly two-thirds of the possession.<\/p>\n<p><span>(Photo by JUAN MABROMATA \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/span> <!--&gt;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Almost certainly, yes. The GOAT turned 39 during the tournament. He\u2019ll celebrate his 43rd birthday when Argentina, Morocco, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain and Uruguay co-host the centennial World Cup in 2030. (As things stand now, the South American nations will get just one match each.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Messi may be superhuman, but he's human nonetheless. Surely he won\u2019t still be scoring almost at will at the highest level four years from now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Right? If there\u2019s anyone who can, why not him?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Messi was at the height of his powers this summer, eclipsing the career-best seven goals he scored in leading his country to the 2022 title. He\u2019d said he would retire after that World Cup, only to change his mind after Argentina prevailed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>After coming so close to winning a second title, could he try to climb that mountain again? After all, Cristiano Ronaldo was 41 this summer and still scored three goals in Portugal\u2019s five matches. And because Messi\u2019s game doesn't rely as much on physicality, he could surely stick around a little longer if he wants to.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>(Photo by FRANCK FIFE \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/span> --><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>So much of the talk in the lead-up to Sunday\u2019s grand finale a few miles west of New York City was the opportunity for Argentina to do something unprecedented by becoming the first national team ever to win four consecutive major titles, snapping a tie with the legendary Spanish side of the early 2010s.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>In ending that dream for the 2022 World Cup champs, this generation of Spanish players asserted themselves as worthy successors to both of those dynasties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Under coach Luis de la Fuente, Spain has won three trophies in the last three years; Sunday\u2019s triumph capped the European Championship La Roja claimed in 2024 and the UEFA Nations League crown it claimed a year earlier. (They narrowly lost the Nations League final last summer, to Portugal.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>With another Nations League to play for next year, Euro 2028, set for the following summer and a home World Cup two years after that, Spain, with the fifth-youngest roster among the 48 squads at this World Cup, will have a chance over the next few years to go down as the most decorated national team of them all.<\/p>\n<p><span>(Photo by Paul ELLIS \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/span> <!--&gt;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Messi isn\u2019t the only regular who might not be back even for the 2028 Copa Am\u00e9rica, let alone the next World Cup. Coach Lionel Scaloni could leave; the architect of the most successful Argentina team ever is out of contract and hasn\u2019t said whether he wants to return. Eight players besides Messi are also already 30 or older. With an average age of almost 29, they were one of the grayer teams in this World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>So even if Messi and Scaloni stay, change is coming for the runner-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>And if both Lionels leave? A whole new batch of fresh faces led by young holdovers like Valent\u00edn Barco and Nico Paz, both 21, and Giuliano Simeone (23)will be asked to grab the baton from the vets. They\u2019ll have an awful lot to live up to.<\/p>\n\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>POPULAR SEARCHES BROWSE BY NEW YORK NEW JERSEY STADIUM \u2014 Spain stands alone on top of the world. La Roja won their second World Cup title on Sunday \u2014 Spain\u2019s first since 2010 \u2014 by defeating Lionel Messi and 10-man Argentina on Ferran Torres\u2019s goal in the second half of extra time following a scoreless [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6946,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}