Spain Wins the 2026 World Cup With Defense Even an Old Grinder Can Respect

That keeper, Emiliano Martínez, made 11 saves — a World Cup final record — and kept Argentina alive deep into extra time with one sprawling stop after another. Spain finished with 12 shots on goal and 65 percent possession, completing more than twice as many passes as Argentina. The numbers tell you who owned the field. The film doesn’t lie.

De la Fuente, speaking after the match, called it “the best script for a movie” and “an honor to coach these players.” He told his squad before kickoff: “Gentlemen, we have an appointment with history, and we want to be there first.” Rodri, the midfield anchor and Golden Ball winner as Player of the Tournament, called Spain “a very complete team” that was “very difficult to defeat.” Goalkeeper Unai Simón took the Golden Glove after a tournament in which he spent long stretches as a spectator — the ultimate compliment to the back line in front of him.

Then there was the matter of Marc Cucurella, the left back who had vowed to tattoo de la Fuente’s face on his body if Spain won. The coach, 63, was asked about it afterward. “I’m no longer of an age to be getting tattoos,” he said. “I already told them they were wrong to say they’d get my face tattooed, because they’re men of their word and they’re going to follow through. I am not so ugly, though.”

This was the highest-scoring World Cup since 1970 — Kylian Mbappé bagged 10 goals, Erling Haaland powered Norway deep into the bracket, and the tournament expanded to 48 teams and shattered attendance records with over 6.8 million fans across the United States, Mexico, and Canada. A sellout crowd of 80,663 packed MetLife for the final. And yet the last team standing was the one that treated the opponent’s half of the field like a locked gate.

Spain will have the chance to defend its title on home soil. The 2030 World Cup will be co-hosted by Spain, Morocco, and Portugal, with Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay each staging one match to mark the tournament’s 100th anniversary — the first World Cup spread across three continents and six countries. CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez has proposed expanding the field to 64 teams, though FIFA has not decided.

De la Fuente, asked whether he wants to lead Spain into that home tournament, did not commit. “We are privileged to represent who we represent,” he said. “I don’t think I’m an alien. I come from the earth and I know we are not in a hurry. We want to complete each stage and now we want to enjoy this.”

Spain’s players, he said, were already asking what was next. “Once we finished the game, there were footballers who said now what else is there to win as we’ve won everything in all categories,” de la Fuente said. “What remains is the next match in September. The team are relentless.”