Read for 5 minutes20 July 2026 04:00 PM IST
Spain added another star to their jersey by winning their second World Cup with a 1-0 win over defending champions Argentina in the FIFA World Cup final in New Jersey on Sunday. Spain became the first nation to win the World Cup in both men’s and women’s football when Ferran Torres scored the only goal in the much-anticipated final in extra time in the 106th minute.
The Luis de la Fuente-coached side opened their World Cup campaign with a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde and Torres missed an easy chance in the match.
Former France striker and 1998 World Cup winner Thierry Henry has said Spain’s belief in their style of play was the key to their World Cup victory and how everyone had written Spain off after their draw against Cape Verde.
Henry was initially asked about what other countries needed to do to win the World Cup, before talking about how Spain were better on the ball and how they went about their business differently.
“Go to work. Think all you want to go about it. At every level, they’ve played the same. That’s why Spain dominates world football at every level. It doesn’t matter because men and women, they play the same way. But I wanted to say something important. We talked about Ferran Torres and we talked about Lionel Messi before the game? Why did Lionel Messi start in the World Cup by Miss Torres. Six-yard box against Cape Verde. Everyone killed him. Spain can’t score. Spain doesn’t have that. They don’t concede goals. That’s what they’ve been doing for a long time.”
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With Sunday’s win, Spain have now won the European Championship and World Cup for the second time in a row in their history. The country previously achieved the feat with the 2008 Euro-winning campaign and the 2010 World Cup title, and this is only the third time a country has done so. West Germany won the 1972 Euro and the 1974 World Cup. Spain’s title on Sunday meant the country became the seventh country to win multiple World Cup titles.
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Henry also spoke about how Spain’s pass was crucial to their World Cup campaign. “The best team won. What they did with the ball impressed me. You almost can’t put three passes together and when you stop doing that they get the ball back. If you don’t have the ball … you can’t score,” Henry added.
Sunday’s title means the country is now on a 38-match unbeaten run in all competitions. This means that Spain have now broken Italy’s record for the longest winning streak in world football.
Also read | Ferran Torres extra time strike defeats Argentina; Spain won the title
Spain have won 14 of their last 15 matches at the World Cup and Euros, with their only draw against Cape Verde in their opening match at the World Cup. While their leading forward Lamine Yamal scored only one goal in this World Cup, Rodri’s Spanish side dominated the entire tournament.
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Former Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic shares how the Spanish team takes away the spirit of the opposition. “He (Yamal) came into the tournament and he wasn’t 100 percent. He didn’t have his best competition and yet, Spain dominated every game. That says how good they are as a team, even if Yamal didn’t perform. They won the World Cup without this guy performing as usual. That says how good Spain is, because they take your spirit away, because they hope they can play. Then, I know if I don’t touch the ball, I’m patient, You want to run after them.