Spain’s World Cup final hero Ferran Torres admitted he was still struggling to believe what he had achieved after scoring the extra-time winner that sealed a historic 1-0 victory over Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the FIFA World Cup 2026 final.The Barcelona forward, introduced from the bench by coach Luis de la Fuente, etched his name into Spanish football folklore with the decisive strike in the 106th minute at MetLife Stadium. Moments after the final whistle, an emotional Torres confessed that the magnitude of the occasion had not yet sunk in. “Honestly, I can’t believe it. I’m just trying to enjoy it, but I don’t know what’s happening,” Torres said in an interview with the host broadcaster, in a video shared by DAZN Football on X. “I didn’t think too much. I just saw the ball coming to me and I just shot it with the power of all the Spanish people.”The goal crowned Spain world champions for only the second time after their maiden triumph in 2010 and ended Argentina’s hopes of becoming the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to successfully defend the FIFA World Cup.
‘The goal was for 47 million people’
Torres later dedicated his match-winning strike to the people of Spain, insisting the triumph belonged to the entire country rather than just the squad.“The goal was for 47 million people; it wasn’t just mine, or of the 26 players here,” Torres said, as quoted by FIFA. “I believe today’s outcome was written in the stars. The game was there for us to win. We were far from our people, but we did our best to make them feel as close as possible.”Spain had dominated the contest from the opening whistle, controlling possession, creating the overwhelming majority of chances and restricting Argentina to almost nothing in attack. Yet it took until extra time for La Roja to finally break through.Just 37 seconds into the second period of extra time, Pedro Porro floated in a deep cross that Nico Williams brilliantly headed back across goal. Torres timed his run perfectly before smashing a left-footed finish into the roof of the net beyond Emiliano Martinez, whose 12 saves had kept Argentina alive for more than 100 minutes.
Facing Messi on the biggest stage
Torres also acknowledged the unique pressure of facing Lionel Messi in what is expected to be the Argentina captain’s final World Cup appearance.“All finals are difficult. When Messi is on the opposition team that nervousness always creeps in,” Torres admitted. “But ultimately we’ve always stuck to our guns, to playing our own brand of football, and I think today we’ve shown that once again.”Spain’s disciplined display completed one of the most dominant World Cup campaigns in recent memory. Luis de la Fuente’s side finished the tournament unbeaten, conceding just one goal in eight matches while adding the FIFA World Cup title to the UEFA Euro 2024 crown.
