Argentina suffered a heartbreaking 0-1 defeat against Spain in the final of FIFA World Cup 2026 on Sunday (July 19) at the New York New Jersey Stadium. Ferran Torres scored the only goal of the match in the 106th minute of extra time to shatter Argentina’s hopes of successfully defending their world title.
Spain vs Argentina FIFA World Cup 2026 Final
The defeat was Argentina’s fourth loss in a FIFA World Cup final. They had previously finished runners-up in the 1930, 1990 and 2014 editions.
With Sunday’s defeat, Argentina joined Germany as the only teams to have lost four FIFA World Cup finals. Germany finished runners-up in 1966, 1982, 1986 and 2002.
Argentina’s first World Cup final defeat came in the inaugural edition in 1930, when they lost
2-4 to Uruguay at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo. Sixty years later, Diego Maradona-led Argentina suffered a 0-1 defeat against West Germany in the 1990 final at the Stadio Olimpico. In 2014, Germany once again denied Argentina, securing a 1-0 win in the final at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
Despite their four final defeats, Argentina remain one of the most successful teams in World Cup history, having won the title three times. They defeated the Netherlands 3-1 in the 1978 final and beat West Germany 3-2 in the 1986 summit clash. Their most recent triumph came in 2022, when they defeated France 4-2 on penalties after the final ended 3-3 following extra time.
Had Argentina defeated Spain on Sunday, they would have become only the third team in FIFA World Cup history to successfully defend their title.
Italy were the first nation to achieve the feat by winning the 1934 and 1938 editions, while Brazil became the second after lifting the trophy in 1958 and 1962. No team has managed to retain the FIFA World Cup title since Brazil’s triumph in 1962.
