Spain are world champions for the second time, and they did it without losing a game. Ferran Torres’ extra-time goal beat Argentina 1–0 in Sunday’s final in East Rutherford, a match in which Argentina failed to put a single shot on target.
The defensive record is the story of the tournament. Across eight matches Spain conceded once: Charles De Ketelaere’s strike for Belgium in the quarter-final, cancelled out by Fabián Ruiz and won back by Mikel Merino’s 88th-minute rebound. Seven clean sheets in eight games, including every knockout round except one, is the kind of line that usually belongs to a group-stage table, not a champion’s full campaign.
The attack was more escapology than avalanche. After a goalless opening draw with Cape Verde, the eventual surprise of Group H, Spain put four past Saudi Arabia and then made a habit of winning by the minimum: 1–0 against Uruguay, 1–0 against Portugal through Merino in injury time of Cristiano Ronaldo’s last World Cup match, and finally 1–0 against Argentina after 90 scoreless minutes. Only the 3–0 round-of-32 win over Austria and the 2–0 semi-final against France offered any breathing room.
Sixteen years after their first star in South Africa, the formula was recognisable: control the ball, concede almost nothing, and trust one goal to be enough. In 2010 Spain won all four knockout games 1–0. In 2026 they needed 14 goals to lift the trophy but, in truth, could have done it on half of them.