Spain defeated Argentina in a dramatic extra time to win their second World Cup title.
The World Cup of stars ended with a trophy lift for the team whose strength lies in its collective.
Spain, so understated in its brilliance, is on top of the world, winning a championship with 1,000 cuts.
The last came in East Rutherford on Sunday when Ferran Torres’ left foot gave Spain its deliverance after 106 long minutes.
After an afternoon Spain spent searching for a way past the imperious Emiliano Martínez, that was all it needed for a 1-0 victory and the second World Cup title in its history.
“I cannot express it with words,” Rodri said. “It’s like we’re in a cloud.”
“Happiness,” manager Luis de la Fuente said, “must feel like this.”
It would be inaccurate to say Spain won this tournament without any stars given Lamine Yamal’s prominence both on the field and commercially, and given that Rodri is a former Ballon d’Or winner who rightly won the tournament’s Golden Ball on Sunday.
But all tournament long, their contributions were almost entirely off the scoresheet.
The team was the star.
So it was on Sunday when Spain, just like it has all tournament, wrapped its grip around Argentina until a goal felt inevitable.
De la Fuente’s side plays soccer like a current runs through a river.
Before you notice it, they have total control.
That control was almost never in question Sunday.
Even as the match stayed scoreless, for the entire second half, it seemed only a matter of time.
Martínez made sure it would be as much time as possible, with a World Cup final-record 10 saves in the 90 minutes of regulation time, but Argentina had no answer beyond physical antics that made it a deserving loser.
Enzo Fernández, who had scored the game-tying goal in the semifinal against England, was sent off after 92 minutes, earning a second yellow card for a late challenge on Pau Cubarsí.
That left Argentina — which had played as if it were a man down all afternoon — clinging on for dear life.
They made it as far as extra time, where twice in the first seven minutes, Nico Williams had golden chances to take the lead for Spain.
The first, off his head, was denied by Martínez’s best save of the day.
The second, which ended up in the net, was wiped off due to Mikel Merino’s foul in the buildup.
Williams, though, didn’t squander a third opportunity, after Pedro Porro’s cross found him at the back post.
Instead of heading it toward Martínez, he sent it backward, where the left foot of Torres smashed it into an open net.
“In the end, the goal belongs to 47 million people,” Torres told Spanish broadcaster TVE. “Not me, nor we 26 players here. Destiny was written today. We were going to win.”
Like Andrés Iniesta in Johannesburg in 2010, Torres flew toward the corner flag and was surrounded by joyous teammates.
There were 14 minutes left, plus stoppage time, and that an exhausted, 10-man Argentina side began to produce chances under such circumstances only raised the question of whether this was possible all along.
With Argentina pinned back for nearly the duration, Lionel Messi was largely a footnote in what could be his final game with the national team.
The most memorable moment of his day ended up being Yamal, after the final whistle, walking to Argentina’s end to hug Messi before the latter sank to the ground in tears.
Sadly for Argentina, the only contributions its outfield players made Sunday were hard-charging tackles — some of which resulted in bookings, others that were lucky to avoid them.
It was a cynical way to play a World Cup final, and Leandro Paredes grabbing Eric García’s neck after the final whistle crossed the line into disgrace.
Lionel Scaloni — who burned through all five of his subs by the 70th minute — was without answers for this Spain team, just like France coach Didier Deschamps before him.
Against this version of Spain, perhaps there were none.
“Of course it hurts. It’s tough,” Scaloni, who would end his news conference early in tears, said through an interpreter. “We couldn’t compete head to head today when it came to football.”
La Roja ended the tournament allowing one goal in eight games, and holding Argentina without a shot until the 117th minute.
For all the attention on Yamal, center back Pau Cubarsí won the tournament’s Best Young Player, and has a case as the best 19-year-old in Spain’s lineup.
Not only are Spain world champions, but they were the first European champion to beat the South American champion in a World Cup final.
