Simply Ferrantastic! Spain win the World Cup with a late winner

Ferran Torres scored a dramatic extratime winner as Spain defeated holders Argentina 10 to win the World Cup on Sunday and shatter Lionel Messirsquos dreams of a triumphant farewell to footballrsquos greatest stageBarcelona striker Torres lashed home a thumping finish in the 106th minute to reward a dominant display by Spain against an Argentina team that failed to register a single shot on target in 120 minutesA starstudded crowd of 80663 that included US President Donald Trump packed East Rutherfordrsquos Stadium to see if Argentina captain Messi could crown his glittering career with a second World Cup victorySpain players celebrate with the World Cup trophy after beating Argentina in New Jersey on SundayBut the 39yearold maestro mdash almost certainly playing in his final World Cup game mdash was reduced to irrelevance as Spain took control early on against an Argentina team that committed cynical fouls throughoutThe South Americansrsquo skulduggery ended with midfielder Enzo Fernandez being sent off after a brutal challenge on Spain defender Pau Cubarsi in stoppage timeFor long periods though it looked as if Argentina may somehow hold on for a penalty shootout as Spain struggled to make the breakthroughBut after Nico Williams had a goal controversially disallowed in extratime Spain struckA lofted cross to the back post by Pedro Porro found Williams who nodded into the path of Torres to crash home the goal that clinched Spainrsquos second World Cup title after their maiden 2010 triumphldquoUltimately the goal belongs to 47 million people mdash not just me or the 26 playersrdquo goal hero Torres said referring to Spainrsquos approximate populationldquoAt the end of the day all finals are tough when yoursquore up against Messi therersquos a certain nervousness but we always believed in our football and in ourselvesrdquoSpain captain Rodri who won the Golden Ball award said the team were ldquoa bit shocked right nowrdquoldquoEven myself I cannot express with words I think now wersquore like in a cloudrdquo he saidThere were ugly scenes after the final whistle as Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes triggered a melee by grabbing Spain defender Eric Garcia around the throat in a skirmish that saw Spanish substitute Gavi thrown to the floorMessi meanwhile was seen with tears streaming down his face after receiving his runnersup medal in a ceremony headed by Trump who was subjected to deafening boos and catcalls as he walked onto the pitch alongside FIFA chief Gianni Infantino1No of goals conceded by Spain in the justconcluded World Cup mdash the fewest ever by a World Cup winning team38No of matches Spain are unbeaten in mdash the longest streak by any teamThreeTotal number of World Cup goals scored by Ferran TorresTorres on top for SpainSenior appearances 65Goals scored 25 Won UEFA European Championship in 2024 Won UEFA European U19 Championship in 2019 scored both goals in Spainrsquos 20 final win over PortugalWon UEFA European U17 Championship in 2017This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever