Patience proved the critical virtue for Spain. The players had to wait for a kickoff delayed by, among other things, a Tom Cruise speech. They had to wait twice as long as usual at halftime. And they had to wait for 106 minutes of play and their 20th shot before Ferran Torres lashed home the goal that would win them a second men's World Cup.
"I'm very moved. Looking back and thinking about them, we've won everything, absolutely everything, with this generation of players," said Spain coach Luis de la Fuente. "The match should have been decided much earlier ... but this is a World Cup final, and you have to dig deep even against ten men, and we’re prepared for anything."
2026 World Cup, the tournament that changed football foreverTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Spain's captain and player of the tournament, Rodri, lifted the trophy, but not before Donald Trump made his presence known. The US president was booed when he entered the pitch with FIFA's president, Gianni Infantino, and appeared keen to stay for the trophy lift, just as he had in the Club World Cup final last year. Rodri appeared to subtly attempt to usher Trump off the stage before Infantino jogged over to join Trump on the sidelines of the celebrations.Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino were booed by the crowd as they entered the pitchImage: Lee Smith/REUTERS
