On Sunday night one of the most intense final World cup matches in football history raged between Spain and Argentina. The Argentines were defending their title as the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) reigning champions against the Spanish. However, it was the Spanish who won the day and the Cup. The match lasted the full regulation time of 120 minutes of regulation and extra time (90 + 30), in addition to stoppage time, for a total duration of three hours.
There was bedlam on the pitch and delirium in the stands. The cameras cut away from (Ferran) Torres’s manic celebrations to show a group of grinning men in expensive suits. Sergio Ramos hugged David Villa, Iker Casillas rubbed Carles Puyol’s long mane, and in amongst them was Iniesta himself, offering a little clap and smile. Only he truly knew the feeling. Sixteen years ago, Iniesta received a bouncing ball in the box from a teammate, steadied himself and crashed a shot past the goalkeeper to win Spain the World Cup. Then it was 1-0 over Netherlands in Johannesburg after extra time; here it was 1-0 over Argentina in New Jersey after extra time. He and Torres will forever be connected by whatever that drug feels like.
I think in the end the goal came from 47 million people, not just those of us that are here, an emotional Torres said. Today destiny was written, it was made for us to win. We’re far from our people today but we tried to be as close as possible to them.
Watching the match in the stadium would have kept the spectators, supporters of both Spain and Argentina in their seats. When the Spanish national team won against the Argentines, the Spanish spectators and their supporter would have been flushed would ecstasy. The final match was a clash of talent, training and stamina. Both sides had placed their best efforts into scoring the goals they had gained. However, there can only be one winner as always. The Argentines had possibly seen the end of their luck following a successful winning streak. The Spanish now have the better winning streak after having triumphed over the Dutch in the Johannesburg match. Torres, Ramos, Villa, Casillas etc would all have put up a brilliant game, alongside the Argentines. Adrenalin would have been on full display by both teams, their spectators and supporters in that stadium in New Jersey.
Determination and energy were on full display by the players. The Spanish team would have returned to their home country as champions. Spain football club manager Luis de la Fuente set a record of his own when he became the oldest manager to lead a team to a World Cup title at 65 years old. Winning the tournament is an achievement in football with out parallel.
The victory also extended Spain’s unbeaten streak in international play to 38, which is a record for men’s soccer. Spain passed Italy, which had a 37-game unbeaten streak from 2018-2021. Spain’s last loss came in 2024 against Colombia.
The Spaniards, Italians, Germans, Argentines, English among others are the toughest of the professional football teams and clubs. For Spain to score against the football devoted Italian team would not have been no easy feat. The Spanish possess a winning streak of 38 games in a row is a significant performance, but every streak has its limit, depending on how both opposing teams play the match.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
