New Jersey: Ferran Torres emerged as Spain’s hero, scoring the decisive goal in extra time as the European champions edged 10-man Argentina 1-0 to lift their second FIFA World Cup trophy.
Introduced from the bench, Torres pounced on a rebound early in the second half of extra time to finally break the deadlock after Spain had dominated possession but struggled to breach Argentina’s disciplined defence.
Argentina’s hopes suffered a major blow in second-half stoppage time when Enzo Fernandez was sent off after picking up his second yellow card, leaving the defending champions to play the remainder of the match with 10 men.
Despite reaching a third World Cup final with Lionel Messi as captain, Argentina offered little attacking threat and failed to register a single shot on or off target for the first 115 minutes of the contest.
The triumph completed a remarkable double for Spain, adding the World Cup crown to their European Championship title and securing the nation’s second world title.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente, 65, became the oldest manager to win the World Cup, while Messi, 39, became only the second player to appear in three World Cup finals and the oldest outfield player to feature in the tournament’s showpiece match.
