As the full-time whistle blew inside the New Jersey New York stadium and supporters burst into celebration on Sunday night (19 July), Lamine Yamal dropped to his knees and pointed towards the sky.
You could almost feel his relief.
Spain had controlled a tense and nervy FIFA World Cup final but needed extra time to finally break the resistance of a defensively minded Argentina side who failed to register a single shot on target in 120 minutes.
The South Americans had Enzo Fernandez sent off following a rough challenge on defender Pau Cubarsí in injury time before substitute Ferran Torres struck in the 106th minute to give the European side the win.
It’s Spain’s first World Cup title since 2010, adding to the European Championship crown they won two years ago.
At the other end of the pitch, Lionel Messi stood motionless.
The Argentine star had hoped to become the first captain to lift back-to-back World Cups, while his country was aiming to be only the third nation to defend their title after Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962).
Neither would come to pass.
It was another painful defeat for the 39-year-old, in the same stadium his side lost the 2016 Copa América Centenario on penalties following a goalless draw to Chile.
That loss, in which he missed a spot kick, was his fourth defeat in a major international final at the time, and briefly convinced him to retire from international football before he was encouraged to change his mind by Diego Maradona.
Relying on their captain’s inspiration in this tournament, Argentina have often appeared unstoppable at times, with thrilling victories over Cabo Verde, Egypt and England on their way to Sunday’s final.
But there would be no miracle this time around, with Spain both dominant and relentless as they zipped the ball around in the mid-afternoon sun.
Luis de la Fuente‘s side kept clean sheets in seven of their eight games at the FIFA World Cup, a new tournament record, and restricted Argentina to just two shots, the fewest by any team this summer.
Such was Spain’s dominance, Argentina also failed to record a single attempt on target for the first time since their 1-0 defeat to Germany at the 2014 World Cup final.
Captain Rodri, the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner, was at the heart of the action once again and would later cap a magnificent tournament by claiming the Golden Ball as the competition’s outstanding player. Goalkeeper Unai Simón was awarded the Golden Glove.
Defender Marc Cucurella later told reporters their defensive record was testament to the whole team.
“When you don’t concede, I think it’s much easier to win,” he said.
“We’ve done an incredible job in that regard all tournament, and not just the defenders and the goalkeeper, because I think it’s a team effort.
“Ultimately it’s about everyone making sacrifices. We attack together and defend together. That’s one of the keys to this team,” he added.
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