Spain ended Argentina’s reign as world champions with a 1–0 victory in the 2026 final at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, a result shaped by 120 minutes of near-total European control. Ferran Torres struck in the 106th minute, the only goal of a match in which La Roja held 65.1 per cent possession and directed 12 shots at the Argentine goal. The defeated side failed to register a single effort on target, a statistic without precedent for a finalist in the modern tournament. Enzo Fernández was sent off in second-half stoppage time for a challenge on Pau Cubarsí, and after the final whistle Leandro Paredes, Nahuel Molina and assistant coach Roberto Ayala were involved in physical altercations with Spanish players, prompting FIFA to open an investigation.

Viewed from Brazil, the former striker Ronaldo Nazário described the contest as “an absolute thrashing” and argued that Spain’s collective style now surpasses even Brazil’s historic jogo bonito. “Argentina never played good football, they only fought with grit,” he said on his digital channel, adding that “one talented player can win a match, but you need the strength of a team to win a World Cup.” In Buenos Aires, coach Lionel Scaloni offered a starkly different tone, telling reporters: “Was the refereeing unfair? No, not at all. We lost because they played better than us. We have to admit that.”

Within hours of the final, a Change.org petition launched by a supporter named Gisela Sánchez demanding a replay had gathered more than 61,500 signatures, alleging “corrupt” officiating by Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić. Argentine media outlets, however, reported that no official initiative backed the campaign, and FIFA’s Integrity Task Force stated it had found no suspicious betting patterns or indications of match manipulation. A separate petition calling for Argentina’s permanent exclusion from future World Cups amassed over 23 million signatures, falling just short of the all-time record, before its organisers closed it with the message: “FIFA ignored us, but Spain kept its promise.”

Conspiracy theories spread rapidly across Spanish- and Indonesian-language social media, with users claiming Argentina had been forced to lose in retaliation for displaying a “Las Malvinas son argentinas” banner after the semi-final victory over England. Fact-checking organisations in Argentina and Spain dismissed the claims as baseless, and psychologists noted that the rumours fit a classic pattern in which high-stakes ambiguity fuels collective myth-making. The fallout also drew in celebrities: Spanish singer Rosalía apologised after sharing a video that mocked Argentina, while President Javier Milei posted that “the problem with Argentina is that we are striking, we don’t go unnoticed, they envy us.” In the Middle East, footage showed celebrations in Gaza, where some fans had framed the match as a symbolic contest between a Spain that backs Palestine and an Argentina perceived as close to Israel.

Spain’s second world title, secured sixteen years after their first, was built on a midfield anchored by Rodri, Fabián Ruiz and Dani Olmo that dictated tempo throughout the tournament. Argentina’s bid to become the first back-to-back champion since Brazil in 1962 ended not with a contest but with a suffocation, leaving the sport’s newest dynasty to confront the limits of resilience when starved of the ball.