The final match ended on the night of July 20, Moscow time, with Spain defeating the reigning world champions, Argentina, 1–0. Regular time ended in a scoreless draw, and in extra time, Ferran Torres scored the only goal—the Barcelona forward, who had come on as a substitute, finished off a pass from Nico Williams following a cross by Pedro Porro. By that point, Argentina was down to ten men.
During the match, Spain had 20 shots, 12 of which were on target; Argentina managed only two shots and did not hit the target even once. Argentina’s goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez made 11 saves—a record for men’s World Cup finals.
For Spain, this is their second World Cup title following their 2010 victory. Luis de la Fuente’s team has not lost in 38 consecutive matches—a streak that includes their victory at Euro 2024. Throughout the entire tournament, the Spanish conceded only one goal.
For 39-year-old Argentine captain Lionel Messi, the final was most likely his last World Cup match. After receiving his silver medal, he could not hold back his tears.
“It breaks my heart that we won’t be able to take the trophy home with us,” admitted Argentina’s head coach, Lionel Scaloni. De la Fuente, for his part, said he was proud of his players and emphasized that this team still has a bright future ahead.
Torres, who scored the winning goal, said after the match that the victory was “the dream of 47 million people” who were with the team on the field that day. The award for the tournament’s best player—the “Golden Ball”—went to Spain’s captain, Rodri.
“The Trump Curse”
Spain’s victory also added fuel to the fire of the “Trump Curse” theory, as the U.S. president admitted that he had supported Argentina and wanted it to win, saying, “It’s hard to bet against Messi.”
In an interview with Fox News the day before the match, Trump called Argentine President Javier Milei his friend, saying he had done a “fantastic job,” and joined Benjamin Netanyahu in supporting Argentina.
But these plans were not meant to be. As has happened time and again, Trump’s support for sports teams—and sometimes even his mere presence in the stands—often ends in defeat for those he backed. This theory resurfaced during the World Cup following the U.S. national team’s humiliating loss to Belgium, a match that overshadowed the tournament’s biggest scandal (FIFA lifted the suspension of a U.S. national team player after Trump called Infantino, sparking a sharp global backlash).
Furthermore, the “Trump curse” also applies at the political level. Many of the politicians he has supported have lost elections. The latest in this line was Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
As soon as Spain won, the phrase “Trump’s curse” once again became a trending topic on social media.
