By Stephen Oladele
Just like it happened in 1990, Argentina on Sunday lost their defending of world cup they had won four year ago to Spain at the final match of the 2026 edition played at the New York New Jersey stadium, USA.
The Argentine team won the world cup in 1986 and defended it till the final of the 1990 edition before they lost the bid to retain the cup when they were defeated in the final match by the then West Germany by a 1-0 margin.
They were led in the 1990 edition by a world class player, Diego Maradona who had led the team to victory in 1986 with a superb performance.
In the just concluded edition of the 2026, Argentina likewise lost in their bid to retain the cup they had won in 2022 when they were defeated by Spain by a 1-0 margin.
The team was also led by another Argentine world class player, Lionel Messi, who had also inspired them to victory in 2022 edition with a superb performance.
The Argentine bid to retain the cup on Sunday was tharwted by a goal in the extra time by the substituted Ferran Torres which gave the Spain side their second winning of the world cup.
The goal came at 106th minute after Nico Williams headed the ball the way of Torres who fired a shot into the net with the Argentine keeper, Emiliano Martínez who had saved many Spain’s goal attempts being helpless.
La Roja were spectacular in the match as they dominated the game for virtually 120 minutes it lasted.
The match went into extra time as no goal was produced by either side for the 90 minute regulation time despite many shorts on target by Spain as against none by the Argentina.
The Spanish team proved to be competent and worthy of lifting the cup as on the way to the final before deaeating Agentina they had edged out some other teams like Portugal and France which were considered as top contenders for the cup.
The team broke a world cup record of conceding just a goal in seven matches in their journey to winning the cup.
Meanwhile, apart from wining the trophy, Spain also carted home many laurels from the tournament as their midfielder, Rodri won the golden ball, keeper, Unai Simón, received the golden glove while Pau Cubarsi won the best young player.
The breakdown of the major laurels and awards from the tournament is as follows:
- Champions: Spain
- Runners-up: Argentina
- Third Place: England
- Fourth Place: France
- Golden Ball (Best Player): Rodri (Spain)
- Golden Boot (Top Scorer): Kylian Mbappé (France) – 10 goals
- Golden Glove (Best Goalkeeper): Unai Simón (Spain)
- Best Young Player: Pau Cubarsí (Spain)
- FIFA Fair Play Award: Netherlands
