The reign in Spain

Well, that was fun. How soon can we do this again?

A goal by second-half substitute Ferran Torres in the 106th minute lifted Spain to a well-deserved triumph over Argentina in World Cup final whose final viewing totals have yet to be counted but likely will exceed the audience of 1.422 billion from 2022. Spain dominated in every facet on Sunday in New Jersey, outshooting Argentina 20-2, taking 12 shots on goal to none for Argentina, and possessing the ball 65% of the game to 35% for Argentina.

Spain was almost impeccable defensively and was always poised, fending off the aggressive and sometimes goonish tactics that led to defending champion Argentina losing Enzo Fernandez to a second yellow card, one for dissent and one for a late challenge on a loose ball during stoppage time after 90 minutes. Spain was rewarded when Torres scored his goal, which was made possible when Pedro Porro crossed the ball to Nico Williams, who headed the ball to Torres for a left-footed finish that eluded valiant but helpless Emiliano Martinez on his team’s 20th shot of the game. Martinez, in defeat, set a World Cup final record by making 11 saves.

“I shot with the power of all the Spanish people,” Torres said during an on-field interview after Spain had earned its seventh shutout in eight matches.

Spain, the first nation to simultaneously hold World Cup championships in the men’s and women’s tournaments, clearly earned its second-ever men’s World Cup title.

“Football won today. When you watch football, this is what you want to see. The right team won,” FOX analyst Zlatan Ibrahimovich said, and who are we mortals to argue with the spicy, insightful and always interesting Zlatan? Especially when his sentiment was echoed by the ever-elegant Thierry Henry, who noted that Argentina was never able to put three straight passes together Sunday.

“What they do off the ball was second to none,” Henry said of Spain. “The best team won.”

Spain’s Unai Simon, who gave up one goal in the tournament, won the Golden Glove award as the best goalkeeper. Spanish midfielder Rodri, back in form after serious knee problems, deservedly won the Golden Ball as the best player in the tournament. Defender Pau Cubarsi of Spain, 19, was voted the best young player. The Golden Boot, won by the top goalscorer, went to Kylian Mbappe of France, who secured the trophy by scoring twice in France’s loss to England in the third-place game on Saturday and finished with 10 goals.

Spain’s victory was a splendid final flourish to a month of elation and despair, of competition and controversy that began even before the first kickoff when Somalian referee Omar Artan, voted Africa’s best male referee in 2025, was refused entry into the United States. Politics intruded again when the team representing Iran, which is currently at war with the United States, was forced to move its training base to Mexico and leave the U.S. unreasonably soon after its matches. Here’s a compilation of some of the biggest disputes and controversies, from political to officiating.

But the good moments far outweighed the bad. We learned how to row (or Ro, thanks to our new Norwegian friends. We realized how foolish it was to underestimate the drinking capacity or the kindness of Scottish supporters, who left taps dry but generously donated money to children’s charities in New England. We welcomed plucky Cape Verde to the world stage, led by 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, and said hello (and quick farewells) to first-timers Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan. Folks in and around Lawrence, Kansas, opened their hearts when Team Algeria made its base there, the kind of come-together moment that has become a cliche but can be genuinely produced by an international event like the World Cup.

We marveled at the breath control of Andres Cantor on Telemundo, the network whose telecasts quickly became the preferable alternative to the usual blathering on FOX. Count me among the legions of supporters of FOX analysts Ibrahimovich and Henry, who repeatedly cut to the heart of the matter in every circumstance and left castmate Alexi Lalas flailing behind in their golden dust. Kudos also to host Rebecca Lowe, who prevented a four-ring circus from descending into chaos and kept the panel’s shows lively and informative. Wherever you turn up next on TV, Zlatan, I will follow.

We also saw a still-not-nearly-good-enough U.S. team lose in the round of 16 even after the boorish intervention of President Donald Trump led FIFA president Gianni Infantino to pressure the governing body’s disciplinary committee into pausing U.S. striker Folarin Balogun’s schedule one-match suspension for a year. The extra round added this year when the tournament was expanded to 48 teams allowed the U.S. men to claim a knockout victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32, but reality quickly set in and they were eliminated in the round of 16 by an appreciably better Belgian team. Making soccer more accessible and less expensive on the youth level won’t produce the kind of talent necessary for the U.S. men to go deeper into the next tournament, in 2030, but it’s a vital first step toward bringing about meaningful success in the years beyond that.

This World Cup tournament produced a couple of historic firsts, both with debatable results.

FIFA mandated interrupting each half of each game for a hydration break, even when heat or humidity didn’t make those stoppages necessary. That divided games pretty much into quarters; perhaps FIFA’s reasoning (if it’s capable of such a thing) was that Americans would be more familiar and comfortable with a game played in four quarters. It’s not too cynical to say FIFA was thinking less about the players’ welfare than about its own bank balances, because the breaks created extra time to run advertisements. The hydration breaks might not be adopted in other elite soccer leagues, but it’s easy to believe FIFA, with visions of dollar signs dancing in its’ bosses heads, will bring them back in 2030 and beyond.

Another first was the glitzy, Super Bowl-style extended halftime show during Sunday’s finale. Tom Cruise? Shakira? Justin Bieber? Madonna? No, no, no, and no, thanks. Muppets, yes, always, but the whole production was more than a little over the top. Commercialism, thy name is FIFA.

This tournament was the last on the World Cup stage for Argentina’s Lionel Messi (who was largely neutralized in Sunday’s final) and for Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, but the emergence of Norway’s Erling Haaland, Mexico’s Gilberto Mora, and of Spain’s Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal (also astonishingly skillful at 19) offer promise of great feats to come. Here’s a list of youngsters who are worth watching.

What’s next to satisfy the soccer cravings of those of us who watched two or three or even four matches a day for weeks and became lifelong fans of players and teams we previously knew little (if anything) about before this World Cup?

The NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League) is in full swing, and there’s the Women’s World Cup to look forward to next year in Brazil. On the men’s side there’s MLS, which took a break for most of the World Cup but resumed over the weekend.

MLS executives are counting on the World Cup to bring more eyes and attention to MLS games, and some clubs had plans to offer free tickets to lure first-time fans. The quality won’t be close to the level played by the top six or eight World Cup participants, which are all-star teams, but the league has improved over the years and it’s a good entry point or easy place to return. More than 40 MLS players were selected to World Cup rosters, including Inter Miami’s Messi. For telecasts of the best leagues in the world—the English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, France’s Ligue 1, and Germany’s Bundesliga—check your local listings for cable and streaming options.

It was fun while it lasted, but onward we row. Or, as we say now, ro.