JWSport Jacek Waszak – Sport journalist
The iconic Stadium New York New Jersey venue was awarded the honour of hosting the showpiece fixture, which will bring the curtain down on the most inclusiv
Before the 2026 World Cup meeting began, Tom Cruise gave a short speech. “Football brings people together. It turns strangers into friends and reminds us of what we have in common,” emphasised the famous actor.
Tom Cruise’s speech met with mixed reactions around the world. Many European fans and experts found it bizarre that that the final of the world’s most important football tournament was opened by an American actor with no connection to the sport
Many other stars of the global entertainment world were present in the stands, including rock legend Mick Jagger and actors Matt Damon, Will Ferrell and Adrien Brody. Poland’s national team captain Robert Lewandowski, who recently joined Chicago Fire, also watched the match live.
Spain impressed with their defensive play at the World Cup. In eight matches, they conceded just one goal – in the quarter-final, when they beat Belgium 2–1.
The Spanish national team has won the World Cup for the second time in its history. In the final, they beat defending champions Argentina 1–0 after extra time in East Rutherford, near New York. Ferran Torres scored the goal in the 106th minute. Spain previously triumphed in 2010 in
Spain’s most recent defeat came in March 2024 in a friendly against Colombia (0–1). In a competitive match, they lost to Scotland (0–2) in the Euro 2024 qualifiers. At that time, Spain did not win the Nations League, but lost to Portugal in the final only after a penalty shoot-out so, statistically, the result of that match is a draw.
Argentina has three World Cup titles; it is one of the most successful football teams in the world. Argentina is one of the most prestigious teams. . Here, they finished in second place, i.e. as runners-up. Winning the World Cup represents a huge success for any team, and for Argentina it holds particular significance given the country’s football history and culture.
The day before, I watched the England v France match; in that game, both teams went on a scoring spree – there was plenty of action and little defence on either side. It was an eventful match, but it left both teams wanting more; however, we saw 10 goals in the third-place play-off, with England beating France 6–4.
For the first time in history, the reigning European champions met the reigning world champions and Copa America winners in the final of the World Cup.
The first half ended in a goalless draw at the stadium in East Rutherford near New York, in no way interesting, and it must be said that it was boring on both sides of the team.
Spain are currently both world and European champions. This is the first time this has happened since 2010, when Spain also held both titles (having won Euro 2008 and 2012, as well as the 2010 World Cup). Previously, France had achieved this feat (the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000).
World Cup Grand Final 19 July 2026 New Jersey
Spain v Argentina This final took place in New York, New Jersey World Cup, 2026 World Cup We were treated to extra time, during which a red card was shown and Ferran Torres scored the only goal
Spain attacked, creating interesting moves and crosses into the penalty area, whilst Argentina mainly defended and tried to take the initiative, but lacked a plan to break down the Spanish defence.
From the first whistle, Luis de la Fuente’s side took the initiative. The Spaniards enjoyed more possession, controlled the run of play and created more chances in front of their opponents’ goal. Despite their clear dominance, however, they were unable to find a way past Emiliano Martínez, and the score remained goalless at half-time.
The second half was even more sluggish and disjointed than the first, and the players looked stiff. After the break, the pattern of the match remained virtually unchanged. La Furia Roja continued to dominate, whilst the Argentines focused primarily on breaking up their opponents’ attacks. Emiliano Martínez put in a superb performance, keeping his team in the game with several outstanding saves.
Argentina struggled immensely to create attacking opportunities and failed to register a single shot on goal throughout the entire 90 minutes. Their situation became even more complicated towards the end of normal time when Enzo Fernández was shown a second yellow card, resulting in a red. From that moment on, Argentina had to play with ten men.
No goals were scored in normal time, so the outcome of the tournament was decided in extra time. The Spanish continued to dominate play during extra time as well, whilst the Argentinians defended with almost their entire team.
At the start of extra time, the Spanish side dominated and created some good chances. Nico Williams found the net, but the referee disallowed the goal because Merino had fouled Otamendi moments earlier. There was plenty of good football on display here, but unfortunately the foul proved decisive. A similar situation occurred when Norway scored a goal, but the Dutch striker fouled an English defender in the penalty area, and the goal was subsequently disallowed.
The decisive moment of the World Cup final did not come until the 106th minute, when Williams headed the ball down to Ferran Torres, who was in the penalty area, and he struck it precisely under the crossbar. In the final minutes, the Argentines threw everything forward and created a few more dangerous chances, but to no avail. They couldn’t manage it because they were the weaker side on the day. Leo Messi didn’t score in this match, and he should have stepped up to the challenge – having scored eight goals – and tried to catch up with Kylian Mbappé, who had 10 goals throughout the tournament, but it was clear that he was focusing on playing the ball to his teammates. Kylian Mbappé was crowned top scorer with 10 goals at the World Cup
Spain v Argentina 1–0 (0–0, 0–0)
Goal: 1:0 Ferran Torres (106’)
Spain: Unai Simon – Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte (99’ Eric Garcia), Marc Cucurella – Rodri (99’ Martin Zubimendi), Fabian Ruiz (62’ Pedri) – Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo (75’ Mikel Merino), Alex Baena (75’ Nico Williams) – Mikel Oyarzabal (62 Ferran Torres)
Argentina: Emiliano Martínez – Gonzalo Montiel (58 Nahuel Molina), Cristian Romero (70 Giuliano Simeone), Lisandro Martínez (44 Nicolás Otamendi), Nicolás Tagliafico – Rodrigo de Paul (70 Facundo Medina), Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernández, Nicolás González (46 Leandro Paredes) – Lionel Messi, Julián Álvarez (102 Marcos Senesi)
Red card: Enzo Fernández (Argentina, 90+3 mins)
As previously announced, US President Donald Trump, together with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, presented the winning team with the main trophy – the World Cup – after the final.
Kylian Mbappé has scored 10 goals at this World Cup and is the first footballer to have been the World Cup’s top scorer twice. He also won the Golden Boot at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. On that occasion, his eight goals secured him the top spot in the scoring charts.
He is now two goals ahead of Argentina’s Lionel Messi, who has eight goals. The 39-year-old could theoretically have made up the deficit in the final, but his team did not manage a single shot on target in the match.
Ronaldo and Messi, on the other hand, are the only players to have featured in six World Cup tournaments. Both made their debuts in 2006 and have taken part in every subsequent tournament, including the one that ended on Sunday.
The next tournament will take place in 2030, and its hosts will be Spain, Portugal and Morocco, although the first three matches will be played in South America. – in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, to celebrate the centenary of the first World Cup in history.
Having watched this team Argentina from the start they began with a match against Egypt – England focused more on fouling their opponents, and at times even provoked rough fouls or scuffles with their rivals to disrupt their play, rather than on creating good moves or goal-scoring opportunities. The referees should have been more proactive and handed out a few more yellow or red cards, because at one point there were more fouls than actual play.
“It was a well-deserved victory for the Spaniards. Any other result would have been a defeat for football and a reward for a team that came to New Jersey more focused on the game than on malicious fouls or post-match brawls, aimed at disrupting the game rather than building it up. Spain won their second World Cup title; they were the better side than Argentina in the final. These post-match brawls and scuffles between the manager and players, or amongst the players themselves, should not happen; we do not want to see this. As managers, players and supporters ourselves, we demand good relations amongst ourselves and peace with others; this is bad behaviour and unacceptable – the way Argentina behaved during the match or at the end, every match. This is an appeal to all teams across the world.
