Torres settles the final and hands Spain the world title
Spain are world champions for the second time. On Sunday in New Jersey the side led by Lamine Yamal beat Argentina 1-0, with a Ferran Torres goal in the closing minutes of extra time. The scene pointed straight back to 2010: just as Andrés Iniesta did against the Netherlands, another Barcelona forward turned up at the decisive moment to seal Spanish glory.
The Messi v Yamal duel ended with Torres in the spotlight
Expectation around the final centred on the symbolic clash between Lionel Messi, the greatest idol in Barcelona’s history, and Lamine Yamal, the boy who now wears the Catalan club’s number 10. But the game was settled by a third Blaugrana name. Torres found the net when the tie already looked to be heading for penalties, condemning Argentina to another lost World Cup final.
Curiously, despite Spain’s leading role in the final, it was Real Madrid who “won” the World Cup in terms of goals by club. That is because, for the first time in history, Spain entered a World Cup without a single player from the Madrid squad – the signing of former Chelsea man Marc Cucurella was only confirmed during the tournament.
Real Madrid top the goal count despite missing the final
Even without representatives in the final, players tied to Real Madrid but representing other nations racked up 22 goals in the competition. Kylian Mbappé led the way with ten for France, taking his second consecutive Golden Boot. The list is completed by Jude Bellingham with seven for England, Vinícius Júnior with four for Brazil, and Arda Güler, who scored once for Turkey.
Just behind comes Paris Saint-Germain, the reigning European champions, on 15 goals shared between Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola, Ibrahim Mbaye, João Neves, Nuno Mendes, Achraf Hakimi and Fabián Ruiz. Arsenal, the English champions, complete the podium with 13 goals, and Bayern Munich have 12, boosted by Ismael Saibari’s arrival during the competition.
- Real Madrid: 22 goals
- Paris Saint-Germain: 15 goals
- Arsenal: 13 goals
- Bayern Munich: 12 goals
- Crystal Palace, Inter Miami, Manchester United and Sunderland: 8 goals each
Atlético Madrid lead the way for players in the final
If Real won on goals and Barcelona took the title with eight finalists on the pitch, it was Atlético Madrid who put the most names out there on Sunday: nine in total, among them Álex Baena, Alejandro Grimaldo, Marcos Llorente and Marc Pubill on the Spanish side, plus Thiago Almada, Julián Álvarez, Juan Musso and Giuliano Simeone for Argentina.
It is no coincidence. This is the third World Cup final in a row in which the Atlético lead that particular category, repeating the feat of 2018 and 2022. A sign of how the Madrid academy, even without major recent titles in Europe, keeps producing talent at a steady rate for the planet’s leading national teams.
