Sports Writer
Ferran Torres’ goal in the 106th minute delivered Spain its second World Cup title Sunday in a win over Argentina that was tense but one-sided.
The shot was Spain’s 12th on goal, all while defending champion Argentina had produced zero. Yet for how often Spain peppered Argentina’s defense with shots, its brilliant goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez rebuffed every Spanish attempt while setting a record for saves in the World Cup final with 11.
Martínez, however, could not stop the shot rocketed by Torres after Nico Williams headed a pass his way in extra time.
“Honestly I did not think too much,” Torres said on the Fox broadcast after the game. “I just saw the ball coming to me and I shot with the power of all the Spanish people.”
The championship dethroned Argentina, which was trying to become the first repeat champion since Brazil in 1962. Among those celebrating Spain’s victory in the stands in New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium were members of the 2010 Spanish team that previously won the World Cup.
Torres appeared to seal the game later in extra time when Spain got the ball on a counterattack and he was all alone as he raced toward the goal and beat Martínez again for an apparent 2-0 lead. But Torres was ruled offside by a shoulder, and Spain was left to survive a few wild minutes as Argentina, at last, produced two shots that threatened to forge a tie in the final moments.
Argentina played with 10 men for the final 30 minutes after Enzo Fernández was sent off for picking up his second yellow card after his challenge sent Spain’s Pau Cubarsí flying head over heels.
Playing a man down did not help Argentina’s chances, after it went the full 90 minutes of regulation without generating a single shot against Spain’s dominating possession. Lionel Messi finished with 54 touches but just one shot.
“We need to give the opponent the credit they deserve,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said after the game. “I would have loved to know what would have happened if we still had 11 men on the pitch. There were many obstacles tonight. The opponent played very well of course. … The substitutions we had to make were because of injuries, not because of tactical fine-tuning.”
“I already cried my heart out in the locker room. That’s why I’m not crying now, but I do have to be thankful to this group, because they were warriors, and that is the truth,” he added. “We competed against an amazing team.”
