1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,520
Speaker 1: The twenty twenty six FEEFA World Cup is over and

2
00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:09,160
Spain are champions. Spain won Argentina zero at MetLife Stadium

3
00:00:09,199 --> 00:00:13,400
in East Rutherford, New Jersey in extra time after one

4
00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:16,120
hundred six minutes of football, and it took a red

5
00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:19,239
card to finally break the deadlock. This was not the

6
00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:24,559
final anyone expected. Argentina came in as defending champions, carried

7
00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:27,679
by lee Neelle Messi in what was almost certainly his

8
00:00:27,879 --> 00:00:31,160
last World Cup game. Spain came in as the best

9
00:00:31,199 --> 00:00:35,119
team in the tournament, having beaten Portugal, Belgium and France

10
00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:38,600
on their way to MetLife Stadium, and for ninety minutes

11
00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:42,560
neither team could score. The first half was tense, tight

12
00:00:42,799 --> 00:00:46,520
and Physicallesandro Martinez picked up a yellow card in the

13
00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:50,200
forty first minute for a foul on Padre. The game

14
00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,920
was chippy from the start. Argentina were aggressive, trying to

15
00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:58,880
disrupt Spain's rhythm with fouls and physical challenges. Spain were patient,

16
00:00:59,079 --> 00:01:02,280
moving the balls side to side, waiting for Argentina to

17
00:01:02,399 --> 00:01:06,799
tire Leandro Parades got a yellow in the fifty second minute.

18
00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:11,079
Enzo Fernandez got one in the eighty second. The tension

19
00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:16,000
was building, Argentina were getting frustrated, Spain were getting closer. Then,

20
00:01:16,159 --> 00:01:19,560
in the second minute of stoppage time, Christian Romero was

21
00:01:19,599 --> 00:01:22,760
shown a yellow card for a late tackle on Ei

22
00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:26,359
Arthur Baal, and in the third minute of stoppage time,

23
00:01:26,719 --> 00:01:30,920
Enzo Fernandez was sent off red card. Argentina down to

24
00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,280
ten men with three minutes of stoppage time left plus

25
00:01:34,439 --> 00:01:38,519
thirty minutes of extra time. Enzo Fernandez, the player who

26
00:01:38,519 --> 00:01:41,879
had produced the equalizer against England in the semi final,

27
00:01:42,239 --> 00:01:46,200
the midfielder who had been Argentina's most consistent performer in

28
00:01:46,239 --> 00:01:50,719
the knockout rounds, was gone. The sending off changed everything. Argentina,

29
00:01:50,879 --> 00:01:55,840
already struggling to create chances against Spain's suffocating midfield, now

30
00:01:55,879 --> 00:01:58,319
had to defend for thirty minutes with a man down.

31
00:01:58,799 --> 00:02:01,319
Messi dropped deeper to try to help, but at thirty

32
00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:03,519
nine years old, he did not have the legs to

33
00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:06,640
cover the ground that Enzo would have. And then in

34
00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,400
the one hundred and sixth minute, Ferre and Torres scored

35
00:02:09,439 --> 00:02:12,919
the winner a volley off across from the right. Torres

36
00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:16,400
met the ball cleanly, struck it first time, and Emiliano

37
00:02:16,439 --> 00:02:21,400
Martinez had no chance. Spain won Argentina zero and with

38
00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:25,199
twenty four minutes of extra time left, Argentina needed a

39
00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:29,000
goal against the best defensive team in this tournament. With

40
00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:33,280
ten men and with Messi looking exhausted, they never came close.

41
00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:38,360
Argentina failed to register a single shot during regulation and

42
00:02:38,439 --> 00:02:42,759
did not manage an attempt until extra time. Spain's midfield

43
00:02:42,759 --> 00:02:47,719
trio of far barn Rue, Ease, Rodrie and Pedri controlled

44
00:02:47,719 --> 00:02:52,039
possessions so completely that Argentina's attack was starved of the ball.

45
00:02:52,479 --> 00:02:56,039
Messi touched the ball in dangerous areas maybe four times

46
00:02:56,080 --> 00:03:01,639
in the entire match. Alvarez was isolated, alta Ro Martinez

47
00:03:01,879 --> 00:03:05,479
was invisible, and when Enzou was sent off, whatever faint

48
00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:09,639
hope Argentina had vanished. In the twenty first minute of

49
00:03:09,719 --> 00:03:14,080
extra time, Alexis Macalistaya picked up a yellow card for

50
00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:17,280
a foul on rod Re. It was a desperate tackle

51
00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:19,759
from a team that had run out of ideas and

52
00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,960
run out of energy. The final whistle blew a few

53
00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,599
minutes later. Spain had won the World Cup. This is

54
00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:30,280
Spain's second World Cup title, their first since twenty ten,

55
00:03:30,599 --> 00:03:34,960
when Andres Iniesta scored the winner against the Netherlands in Johannesburg.

56
00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,919
Sixteen years later, a new generation has done it again.

57
00:03:39,439 --> 00:03:42,719
Luis de la Fuentai, the manager who took over after

58
00:03:42,759 --> 00:03:46,080
the twenty twenty two disappointment, has built a team that

59
00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:50,360
combines the technical brilliance of Spain's golden era with the

60
00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:55,680
defensive discipline that passed Spanish teams lacked. Spain went undefeated

61
00:03:55,759 --> 00:03:58,400
in this tournament. They beat Portugal in the round of

62
00:03:58,479 --> 00:04:02,599
sixteen with a stopping time winner from Michel Merino. They

63
00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:05,879
beat Belgium in the quarterfinals with an eighty eighth minute

64
00:04:05,919 --> 00:04:10,280
winner from Mayrino. Again, they dismantled France in the semifinal

65
00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:13,639
to zero in a performance that made the tournament favourites

66
00:04:13,719 --> 00:04:17,639
look ordinary. And tonight, they beat Argentina in the final

67
00:04:17,879 --> 00:04:21,199
with a man advantage for thirty minutes, but also with

68
00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:25,800
a tactical superiority that would have made the difference regardless. Padri,

69
00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,639
at twenty three years old, was the player of the tournament.

70
00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,319
His control of the midfield, his passing range and his

71
00:04:33,399 --> 00:04:36,680
ability to break lines with a single pass made him

72
00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:40,879
the heartbeat of this Spanish team. Ferran Torres, who scored

73
00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,199
the winner tonight, has been decisive in the knockout rounds

74
00:04:44,639 --> 00:04:48,519
Ayartha bal and poor Row have produced goals when Spain

75
00:04:48,639 --> 00:04:53,319
needed them, and Unaisimne the goalkeeper has been reliable, composed

76
00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:58,040
and occasionally spectacular. This is the arrival of Spain's new

77
00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:01,439
Golden generation and it is one of the most dominant

78
00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:05,759
World Cup runs in history. Now the awards. The Golden

79
00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:09,240
Boot for the tournament's top scorer goes to Kylian m

80
00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:13,839
Bappay six goals in seven games. He scored twice against

81
00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:16,959
Switzerland in the group stage. He scored twice in the

82
00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:21,120
round of sixteen. He scored the decisive second goal against

83
00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:24,319
Morocco in the quarter finals, and he scored twice in

84
00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:28,199
the third place playoff against England, a game where France

85
00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:33,040
conceded six but m bap Pay still found the net twice.

86
00:05:33,079 --> 00:05:37,959
His tournament ended in disappointment, but his individual brilliance was undeniable.

87
00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:42,279
The Golden Ball for the tournament's Best Player goes to Padri.

88
00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:45,759
The Spanish midfielder was the heartbeat of the best team

89
00:05:45,879 --> 00:05:49,240
in this World Cup. He controlled games with a calmness

90
00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:53,360
that belies his age. He made passes that opened up defenses,

91
00:05:53,639 --> 00:05:57,959
and he was the constant in a midfield that overwhelmed Portugal, Belgium,

92
00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:01,920
France and Argentina. At twenty three, he has already won

93
00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,160
a European Championship and a World Cup, and he is

94
00:06:05,399 --> 00:06:09,319
just getting started. The Golden Glove for the tournament's best

95
00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:14,560
goalkeeper goes to Emiliano Martinez. Argentina's shot stopper was the

96
00:06:14,639 --> 00:06:17,920
hero of their run to the final. He saved penalties

97
00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:22,000
against Switzerland in the quarter finals. He made crucial stops

98
00:06:22,079 --> 00:06:25,800
against England in the semifinal and tonight even in a

99
00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:29,759
losing effort. He kept Argentina in the game during regulation

100
00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:33,839
time with saves that prevented Spain from scoring earlier. The

101
00:06:33,879 --> 00:06:37,759
goal he conceded in extra time was unstoppable. His tournament

102
00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:41,639
was magnificent. The Young Player Award for the best player

103
00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:46,000
under twenty one goes to Lamina Yamal. The Barcelona winger

104
00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:50,560
showed flashes of brilliance that suggest a generational talent. He

105
00:06:50,639 --> 00:06:53,319
did not start every game, but when he played, he

106
00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:58,079
created chances, beat defenders and looked like a player who

107
00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:01,439
will dominate world football for the next decade. The Fair

108
00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:04,240
Play Award goes to Spain for a team that played

109
00:07:04,319 --> 00:07:07,360
seven games, won them all and did so without a

110
00:07:07,399 --> 00:07:10,800
single red card, for a midfield that controlled games through

111
00:07:10,839 --> 00:07:15,519
technical superiority rather than physical intimidation. And for a manager

112
00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:18,639
Luis de la Fuente who built a team that played

113
00:07:18,639 --> 00:07:21,600
the right way and won the right way. And now

114
00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:25,680
Lionel Messi. During the post match ceremony, the MetLife Stadium

115
00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:30,319
crowd serenaded him. Eighty two thousand fans, the vast majority

116
00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:33,800
of them Argentine, sang his name. They sang the songs

117
00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:37,600
they have sung in Buenos Aires and Rosario for twenty years.

118
00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:40,079
They sang for the player who won them the World

119
00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:43,199
Cup in twenty twenty two, who won them the Copa

120
00:07:43,319 --> 00:07:46,439
America in twenty twenty four, and who carried them to

121
00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:50,120
the final again in twenty twenty six. Messi stood on

122
00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:54,000
the field, tears on his face and listened. At thirty

123
00:07:54,079 --> 00:07:57,319
nine years old, this was almost certainly his last World

124
00:07:57,399 --> 00:08:00,279
Cup game. He may play in the twenty two twenty

125
00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:04,079
seven Copa America, he may play friendlies for Argentina for

126
00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:06,759
another year or two, but he will not play in

127
00:08:06,839 --> 00:08:10,040
another World Cup. That chapter is over, and it ended

128
00:08:10,079 --> 00:08:13,319
in defeat, not in glory, not with a trophy lift,

129
00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:16,560
but with tears and with a stadium full of fans

130
00:08:16,839 --> 00:08:20,199
singing his name even as he lost. Does this loss

131
00:08:20,279 --> 00:08:24,120
change his legacy? No, he has won everything a footballer

132
00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:27,279
can win. He is the greatest of all time and

133
00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:29,600
one loss in a final at thirty nine does not

134
00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:32,480
change that. But it hurts. You could see it in

135
00:08:32,519 --> 00:08:34,559
his face. You could see it in the way he

136
00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:37,000
walked off the field slowly, as if he did not

137
00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:39,440
want to leave. You could see it in the tears

138
00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:42,679
that came when the fans started singing. Messi deserved a

139
00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:45,639
better ending than this. He deserved to lift the trophy

140
00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,399
one more time in front of a stadium that felt

141
00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:51,840
like Buenos Aires and walk off into the sunset as

142
00:08:51,879 --> 00:08:55,120
a back to back World Cup champion. But football does

143
00:08:55,159 --> 00:08:57,799
not care about what you deserve. It cares about what

144
00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:01,360
you do on the day, and today Spain were better

145
00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:04,840
for Argentina. This is a cruel end to a tournament

146
00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:09,240
defined by resilience. They came from behind to beat Egypt,

147
00:09:09,639 --> 00:09:13,120
they needed extra time to beat Switzerland. They produced one

148
00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:16,759
of the great comebacks in World Cup history to beat England,

149
00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:19,840
and tonight for the first time in the knockout rounds,

150
00:09:20,159 --> 00:09:23,360
they could not find a way. Spain would not let them.

151
00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:29,159
Spain's midfield suffocated Argentina's attack, Spain's defense, led by Carva

152
00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:32,480
Hahl and Green mile Do, kept Messy in check, and

153
00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:36,039
Spain's extra time goal, scored by a player who has

154
00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:40,159
been decisive throughout the tournament, was the difference. Spain are

155
00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:43,679
champions of the world, and they are champions because they

156
00:09:43,679 --> 00:09:47,200
were the best team in this tournament from start to finish.

157
00:09:47,399 --> 00:09:51,360
The twenty twenty six FIFA World Cup is over. It

158
00:09:51,399 --> 00:09:56,200
gave us late goals, dramatic comebacks, penalty shootouts, and a

159
00:09:56,240 --> 00:09:59,679
final that will be remembered for its tension, its red card,

160
00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:03,480
and its extra time winner. It gave us messys tears,

161
00:10:03,759 --> 00:10:06,840
It gave us Spain's triumph, and it gave us a

162
00:10:06,919 --> 00:10:10,360
month of football that reminded us why this tournament is

163
00:10:10,399 --> 00:10:15,639
the greatest show on Earth. Quick note This show is

164
00:10:15,679 --> 00:10:17,360
produced with the help of AI