Following Spain's 1-0 victory over Argentina in the World Cup final, the FOX Sports duo of Zlatan Ibrahimovi and Thierry Henry praised Spain's tactical execution and defensive performance, which limited Argentina's offensive output throughout the game. Ibrahimovi emphasized that Spain's victory was a positive result for the sport due to the commitment to the team's own style of play. He noted that teams attempting to play soccer with finesse often face criticism if they fail to win, but Spain proved sticking to its approach helped secure a championship. "Football won today," Ibrahimovi said. "The way they play football, the way they played in this tournament when you watch football, this is what you want to see." Ibrahimovi also highlighted Argentina's lack of offensive production during the final, credited to the tournament's top defensive unit. "Today, Argentina, they had zero shots on goal," Ibrahimovi said. "Best defense in the tournament? Spain, and the right team won. You asked me before the tournament, I said Spain is going to win. When I say things, things happen." Henry focused on Spain's defensive structure and its ability to quickly regain possession when losing the ball. He compared Spain's current system to his previous experience playing for Barcelona, where off-the-ball pressing was central to the team's success. "The best team won," Henry said. "This team, what they do off the ball is what impresses me. You cannot almost put three passes together and when you stop to do that, they get the ball back. If you don't have the ball you can't score." Henry also noted the broader success of European nations in the tournament, pointing out that three European teams reached the semifinals. With this victory, Spain secured both the European Championship and the World Cup title in succession for the second time, becoming the third team to do so, joining West Germany (1972 Euro, 1974 World Cup) and Spain (2008 Euro, 2010 World Cup). Spain is also now the first nation to have both its men's and women's soccer teams as reigning World Cup champions simultaneously.

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No one enjoyed the Wold Cup more than Jameis Winston. | Getty ImagesCongratulations to World Cup champion Spain, a 1-0 winner over Argentina in extra time on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. The real winner of the World Cup, though, was New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston.The Giants backup quarterback, serving as a correspondent for FOX Sports, was everywhere during the World Cup. If there was fun being had, Winston was likely in the middle of it.Below, some of my favorite Winston moments in both photos and social media posts.Feel free to drop in your own favorite Winston moments. I am sure I missed plenty.Jameis Winston double-dutching before the World Cup Semifinal pic.twitter.com/gBxZm7loJw New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) July 15, 2026The only thing funnier than Jameis Winston teaching Zlatan how to throw a football is Zlatan showing Jameis how to kick a football. Not impressive. ( @FOXSports)pic.twitter.com/wHQVi76jDZhttps://t.co/H2BXZedKrk Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) July 18, 2026Jameis Winston learned how to do the Norwegian Row from the crazed fans and it was every bit as glorious as Id hoped! ( @FOXSports, @Jaboowins) pic.twitter.com/NER9NUA4Ab Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) June 30, 2026Messi Magic turned Jameis Winston into Argentina's biggest fan @Jaboowins | #JameisOnFOXpic.twitter.com/C2jzijtrAd FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 17, 2026JAMEIS WINSTON BRINGS THE ENERGY AHEAD OF @USMNT VS BELGIUM @Jaboowins#JameisOnFOXpic.twitter.com/0YOVpcbUJg FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 6, 2026Dare you to find someone who loves the World Cup more than Jameis Winston pic.twitter.com/o7GcB1aEFF Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) June 28, 2026Jameis Winston dressed up as a shark in honor of Cape Verde and decided to hunt Argentina fans by humming the theme song from Jaws ( @FOXSoccer, @Jaboowins) pic.twitter.com/0l92oIEtjmhttps://t.co/qWa0Ik44xY Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) July 3, 2026Hilarious: Giants QB Jameis Winston dressed up as a German for this week's World Cup matchup against Paraguay.Winston is must watch television. pic.twitter.com/StnO5ZGvlQ Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) June 29, 2026Jameis Winston is the World Cup pic.twitter.com/qNhYWiAePT Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) June 30, 2026JAMEIS WINSTON IS HAVING THE TIME OF HIS LIFE AT THE WORLD CUP.NO ONE LOVES THE WORLD CUP MORE THAN JAMEIS. pic.twitter.com/pGOd7bijRo MLFootball (@MLFootball) July 1, 2026Jameis Winston PARTIES with Colombia Fans Before facing Cristiano Ronaldo & Portugal #JameisOnFOX | @Jaboowinspic.twitter.com/Kob4KGKH2J FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 29, 2026Jameis Winston, a man of many national teams this summer @Jaboowins | #JameisOnFOXpic.twitter.com/vAVb1VQPjk FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 12, 2026Jameis Winston's next FIFA World Cup adventure takes him to the epic France vs. Spain semifinal, where Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbapp steal the show.#JameisOnFOX | @Jaboowinspic.twitter.com/2YKWN2xai7 FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 16, 2026A few photos from Getty Images:

Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in the 2026 World Cup final on Sunday, winning the nation's second-ever World Cup trophy. Spain played patient and clinical soccer throughout the tournament, and were rewarded for its efforts. Here's how the Spanish players, staff and fans celebrated the achievement. Spain Hoists The FIFA World Cup Trophy FIFA president Gianni Infantino handed the FIFA World Cup trophy to Spanish captain Rodri. Rodri turned to his teammates, who put their arms around one another, waiting for their leader to lift it. Rodri kissed the trophy, then hoisted it into the air as his teammates raised their arms in unison. Sergio Ramos Presents His Countrymen With The Trophy Former Spain defender Sergio Ramos, who won the 2010 World Cup with Spain, had the honor of bringing out the trophy for the 2026 team to celebrate. Madrid's Party Into The Morning It was past midnight in Spain, but fans in Madrid and across the country will be partying well into the morning. Spain's Young Wingers Bask In The Glory Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams did a lot of running down the wings during the 2026 World Cup final, and Williams had the decisive assist. They finally had a chance to rest, lying down and taking in the emotions of winning the trophy. Yamal and Williams are a combined age of 43 years old, but have already won a UEFA Euro and World Cup together. Spain's Group Hug Pedri, Dani Olmo, lex Grimaldo and Ferran Torres huddled tightly to celebrate Spain's win. Everyone wanted to congratulate Torres for scoring the match-winning goal. The Changing Of The Guard In Real Time FC Barcelona legend Lionel Messi and FC Barcelona wunderkind Lamine Yamal shared an embrace after Spain beat Argentina in the 2026 World Cup final. Ferran Torres Blasts The Ball As The Final Whistle Blows Fittingly, Spain's goalscorer Ferran Torres had the final kick of the 2026 World Cup final. As he cleared the ball, referee Slavko Vini blew for full-time, affirming Spain's 1-0 victory.

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On this Members-only episode of the Managing Madrid Podcast, Kiyan Sobhani reacts to Spains 1 0 win over Argentina in the World Cup final, including:Madridistas conflicted on who to supportMarc Cucurellas tournamentSpains dominationBizarre referee callsBallon Dor discussionAnd much more.Thanks for being a Member. We hope you enjoy the show!The site is run by a small team that works tirelessly around the clock to make it into what it is today. Your contributions will allow us to continue to have a real and full-time presence in keeping this website, and its podcasts, going.Hosts this week:Kiyan Sobhani (@KiyanSo)

El Ftbol won on Sunday. Spain beat Argentina, 1-0, in New Jersey to win its second World Cup, and the scoreline is the least descriptive stat of the night. Try this one instead: The defending champions, with Lionel Messi on the field for 120 minutes, did not register a single shot on goal. Not one. Spain had 65 percent of the ball, took 20 shots, made Emiliano Martnez produce a World Cup final record 11 saves, and when Ferran Torres swept in Nico Williams' header across the box in the 106th minute, it wasn't a breakthrough. It was the inevitable finally coming to fruition. This was total domination disguised as a tight final if you only look at the score. Spain finished the tournament unbeaten, conceded one goal in eight matches and suffocated the best attacking players on earth France, then Argentina in consecutive games. La Roja pass you to death, sure. But they also press you into panic the instant they lose the ball, and they defend with an organization that borders on choreography. This is a complete team. And more importantly, it is a completely legible team. Which raises the question worth mulling over: Why is Spain the one nation you can identify instantly by its playing style? Because we live in soccer's most unified era. Globalization has sanded down national styles. Brazilian kids grow up in European academies. Every federation hires the same journeymen. Turn on a random international match, and you'll see the same shape, the same buildup patterns, the same borrowed ideas. This summer, we saw Brazil playing Italian catenaccio,while Japan brought the beauty. Imagine predicting that decades ago.National identity in this sport is mostly a nostalgia act now. Except in Spain, where it's a curriculum. Walk into almost any Spanish academy, and you'll find 8-year-olds playing rondos before they're old enough to spell "tactics." The keep-away circles look like warm-up games. They're actually the entire national philosophy in miniature: receive on the half-turn, know your next pass before the ball arrives, make the field a geometry problem the opponent can't solve. Positional play isn't taught in Spain as a system. It's taught as a language, the way kids elsewhere learn multiplication tables. And the pressing is drilled just as young: The moment possession is lost, the nearest players swarm to win it back. The academy gospel says the ball is the whole point, and living without it is unacceptable. Then the federation does the part almost nobody else does: Every Spanish youth national team, from the U-15s up, plays the same way. Same principles, same patterns, same demands. By the time players reach the senior side, they've been rehearsing this exact play for a decade. Pau Cubars and Lamine Yamal didn't need to learn Spain's style at 17. They were raised inside it. The man lifting the trophy is the proof. Luis de la Fuente isn't some outside hire with a vision. He spent years inside the federation coaching Spain's U-19s and U-21s to European titles coaching many of these exact players as teenagers. The pipeline didn't just produce the squad. It produced the manager. That's why the ghosts of 2008 to 2012 don't haunt this team; they were simply the foundation. Xavi Hernndez and Andrs Iniesta retired, but the idea never did. It just went back into the academies and waited for new bodies. Rodri conducts where Xavi conducted. Pedri, Dani Olmo and Fabin Ruiz are distinctly Spanish in the way they take care of the ball. The names change. The structure doesn't. Every other football power should be taking notes, and most won't, because this can't be copied in a hiring cycle. It's a 30-year commitment to teaching children your identity and then trusting it at every level. Spain made that commitment decades ago and never flinched, through golden runs and early exits, alike. Sunday brought the reward for their consistency: a World Cup won by a national team that knows exactly who it is, in an era when almost nobody else does. La Roja play ftbol. Everyone else plays catch-up.

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Argentinas World Cup ended with punches thrown and the former champions left in disgrace following a 1-0 defeat to Spain in the final. There were chaotic scenes after the full-time whistle in New Jersey as the Spain substitutes ran onto the pitch to celebrate victory. Nahuel Molina, the Argentina defender, appeared to swing a punch into the stomach of Spain captain Rodri as he ran past him onto the field. Then, there was a violent clash involving midfielder Leandro Paredes, who was pictured shoving Spains Eric Garcia by the throat. Leandro Paredes wrestles Spains Gavi to the ground after full-time (Reuters)Paredes wrestled Spains Gavi to the ground and pushed into his face while holding him by his substitute bib. Spains Mikel Oyarzabal and Rodri sprinted past Molina after the final whistle was blown and La Roja were crowned champions. Molina appeared to swing at Rodri, leading to the Spain captain stopping in his tracks and approaching the Argentina defender while shouting. Molina then squared up to Rodri and bumped him in the chest, which was the flashpoint that triggered Spains Eric Garcia to step in. Paredes, who was booked during the final and was fortunate to not receive a second yellow card, then flew towards Garcia. He jabbed him in the throat just as Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni approached, wagging his finger and trying to break up the scuffles. With Scaloni separating Garcia and other Argentina coaching staff members getting involved, Paredes then turned his attention to Spains 21-year-old midfielder Gavi - who by that point was already wrestling with Argentinas Thiago Almada.Paredes, 32, spun Gavi to the ground and appeared to push into his face while holding him by the bib. Several of Gavis Spanish team-mates then stepped in to shield him, with Spains Borja Iglesias crashing into Paredes. (Reuters) (Reuters) (Reuters)It was a sorry way for Argentinas tournament to end after they had taken an emotional path to the final. They were attempting to a second World Cup in a row for captain Lionel Messi, who was playing on the World Cup stage for the final time. But the antics of the rest of the Argentina team were quickly condemned as the scenes after the final whistle soured Spains deserved victory. "It's a disgrace, Gary Neville said on ITV. I love the competitiveness of the Argentines, fighting and scrapping for their lives, Messi has propped them up, but its been a disgrace the last few games. Paredes threw two or three haymakers into someone's face. He went for them, Alan Shearer said on BBC. There is no place or space for that. We know how much it means to them and we know how much it hurts to lose, but there is a way to lose. Too many times we have seen that from Argentina. The reaction after the final whistle is terrible.Meanwhile, the tears rolled down Lionel Messis face as he watched the Argentina fans following defeat to Spain. Messi, 39, is yet to confirm his future plans but the expectation is that one of the greatest to grace the game has played his final World Cup before retirement. The Argentina captain was left frustrated as Spain dominated the final, with the European champions winning 1-0 thanks to Ferran Torres goal after extra time. Argentina's Lionel Messi shakes hands with US President Donald Trump (Reuters)Messi had inspired a series of brilliant comebacks in the knockout stages to help Argentina to a second successive final but Spain were deserved winners. Messi scored eight goals in an incredible tournament and the Argentina fans chanted his name as Spains Rodri collected the player of tournament award. Messi then led his team-mates to collect their runners-up medals. He then stood and cried while he watched the Argentina fans serenade him. The record eight-time Ballon dOr winner will be 43 at the next mens World Cup, which takes place in Spain, Portugal and Morocco - but will kick off in Argentina. (Reuters)Messi waited until Spain lifted the World Cup, but then quickly left the pitch in what was perhaps a bitter end to his World Cup journey. By playing in the final, Messi became just the third player to appear in three mens World Cup finals - after Brazils Cafu. Elsewhere, Argentina centre-back Cristian Romero snubbed Donald Trumps handshake during the presentation of the runners-up medals. Romero started the match at the heart of the Argentine defence, alongside Lisandro Martinez, but was subbed off at the 70-minute mark. However, the 28-year-old Tottenham defender still made his mark after that as he snubbed a handshake from Trump when the US president was conducting the medal presentation.Trump was handing out medals to both teams, as well the individual tournament awards, and Romero shook the hand of both Fifa president Gianni Infantino and Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum, who were either side of Trump, but did not engage with the US president.

After Spains 1-0 victory over Argentina after extra time, Lamine Yamal sought out Lionel Messi, who was sitting on the ground taking it all in after a heartbreaking World Cup final loss. It was Messis second World Cup final defeat of his career, after Argentina lost the 2014 final 1-0 to Germany thanks to an extra-time winner from Mario Gtze. This time, the loss came against Yamal and Spain. Yamal, who is being touted as the next star to take over, came over to Messi after the game, and many saw the moment as a symbolic passing of the torch from Messi to Yamal, with both players graduating from Barcelona's La Masia academy. Both Messi (born June 1987) and Yamal (born July 2007) started in the final. It's the first time in a World Cup final with players on each side whose age difference was 20 or more years, with Messi and Yamal's birthdays coming 20 years and 19 days apart. With Spain's win, Yamal is tied for the fourth-youngest player ever to win the World Cup. He was 19 years and 6 days old as of July 19, when he added to his already stellar CV. Yamal now has a European Championship and a World Cup, a staggeringly impressive rsum for a player who is just getting started. In his first three full seasons with Barcelona, the 19-year-old Yamal has played 150 games. Over the past two campaigns, he has scored 42 goals with 38 assists. Yamal made his Barcelona debut in 2023, so he never played with Messi. The Argentine legend left the club in 2021 and spent two seasons in France with Paris Saint-Germain before moving to Inter Miami in MLS. Messi has already won a World Cup and is now 39, so playing in 2030 seems like a tall task. He did not comment on his future with the Argentina national team after the final, though. Even at 39, there's no denying Messi is still one of the best players in the world after an incredible tournament. During Argentina's run to the final, he led the way by scoring eight goals to go with four assists.