Spain brought the curtain down on an epic World Cup when they held their nerve to beat a physical Argentina side 1-0 at MetLife Stadium on July 19th, and truth be told, the best team won. La Roja didn’t concede a single shot on target throughout the two-hour affair, eventually grabbing the deciding goal deep into extra time when Ferran Torres lashed home from Nico Williams’ knockdown to break Argentinian hearts.
Online betting sites had made the Spanish the favourites to win the tournament prior to action getting underway on June 11th, but an opening day draw against Cape Verde immediately sent the bookies back to the drawing board. The popular Lucky Rebel Sportsbook listed Luis de la Fuente’s men as a 9/2 favourite before a ball was kicked, but they were immediately pushed out to 6/1 upon that stalemate against the African debutants, with France installed as frontrunners in their place. Spain would down Les Bleus in the semifinals for the third straight tournament, before going on to claim the trophy for the second time with that 1-0 win over Lionel Messi’s men.
With the World Cup now consigned to the history books, several players who starred at the tournament are currently without clubs following the expiry of their contracts on June 30th. Here are the biggest names and where they are likely to end up.
