Spain 1-0 Argentina: Ferran Torres’ extra time winner secures World Cup trophy for Luis de la Fuente’s side – as Lionel Messi suffers tournament heartbreak

Frank Sinatra’s voice rang out at MetLife Stadium before the World Cup final. As he sang about the ‘final act’, footage was shown on the big screen of Lionel Messi holding aloft the World Cup trophy held in Qatar four years ago and being carried shoulder-high in triumph by his team-mates. “I did it my way,” Sinatra sang as Manhattan skyscrapers gleamed in the distance.

In times when football had lost itself, alienated from those who loved it, become a slave to money and governed by high ticket prices, manipulated by sycophants and fraudsters, attacked by doubts about its integrity and direction, Messi was always there to save football and did it his way.

This time, in the midst of this boring, angry, bitter, exhausting finale, doing it his way wasn’t enough. This time he could not even atone for his own team, who behaved with a despicable lack of grace after the final whistle and barely contained the thuggery and were completely outplayed by Spain. Spain won only 1-0. There should have been so much more.

In a World Cup that has seen countless controversies, a final match filled with hydration breaks with a halftime show and commercial breaks, and President Trump calling on Gianni Infantino to successfully lobby for Folarin Balogun’s suspension to be overturned and $1 million courtside seats, seeing Messi play was always enough to make the heart sing.

The greatest player the world has ever seen, even though he is 39 years old, he still remains the human shield of the sport. While Trump and Infantino danced like puppeteers in the tournament, Messi worked his magic, scoring more goals than anyone except Kylian Mbappe and soaring above the storm.

After Nico Williams sent the ball into the goal, Torres scored the winning goal with his left foot.

There was great joy for the Spanish players who celebrated wildly in the corner of the stadium

But it was devastating for Argentina’s upset stars, who were fighting for their lives.

Messi has graced his sport for over 20 years and Argentina’s dogged, defiant and sometimes desperate run towards this World Cup final against Spain was predicated on this being ‘Leo’s last’. That’s why they wanted to do this. They wanted to give him the send-off he deserved before returning to what was left of his club career at Inter Miami in Major League Soccer.

And so Messi went to the well one last time under the scorching sun in New Jersey. 15 of his 21 goals in the tournament have come since his 35th birthday, and although Mbappe is ahead of him in the Golden Boot race and the all-time World Cup list on Saturday evening, many were hoping Messi could do the same on Sunday.

The truth is that when Messi went to the well this time, the well was empty. This was a game too advanced even for him. Tom Cruise made a speech on the pitch before kick-off, which made Messi’s task impossible in the match.

He was caught up in the banality of a final that contrasted with much of the drama this World Cup provides. It was boring and exhausting. The match was won by Spain, who converted their advantage into a winning goal in the second period of extra time.

Although most people wanted Messi to win, there were not many people who wanted Argentina to win. They played with a mixture of shameless thuggery and a desperate lack of ambition. They couldn’t even make a single shot in normal time, let alone a shot on target. If he was at all satisfied with how they were cleared off the ice, it was that his self-described enforcer Enzo Fernandez came up with a late red card at the end of regulation time.

So Messi’s last move ended in failure. He failed to end the campaign with the Golden Boot, failed to win the second World Cup he so desperately wanted, and left the international scene having made little impact in his final game. Sport does not respect reputation.

Torres’ goal brought joy to thousands of Spanish fans in the stadium

Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez had been in inspiring form to keep Spain at bay before this.

There was no fairy-tale World Cup ending for Lionel Messi as he struggled to assert his authority.

Enzo Fernandez received a red card for a second careless offense at the end of normal time.

A brawl broke out and Messi tried to have Marc Cucurella sent off for covering his mouth.

Much of the pre-match talk was about passing the torch from Messi to Spain’s superstar young player Lamine Yamal, but even though Yamal had more influence than Messi, he was struggling with the effects of a hamstring injury and could not show his brilliance in the game.

It was Ferran Torres who made the difference when he entered the game, it was Ferran Torres who scored the winning goal and it was Ferran Torres who thought he had scored a second before it was disallowed for offside. This was Spain’s second World Cup victory after 2010. They conceded only one goal throughout the entire competition. They were the better team here by a large margin.

Yamal got his first chance in the first five minutes of the match. Dani Olmo’s neat touch set Yamal in behind the Argentine defence, but he was unable to strike with enough power or accuracy to beat Emiliano Martinez.

Argentina did not start the match with the anger they showed against England in the semi-final. Without acting with the same visceral anger, they showed Spain much more respect and allowed them to dictate the tempo of the game.

Spain had conceded just one goal in the tournament before this match but they had an early scare when Messi raced towards a through ball. He kept a clean sheet but Unai Simon raced 35 yards wide of his goal to clear the goal, getting there just ahead of the Argentina captain. Some thought Messi missed an opportunity. “He had to put his body in and he didn’t,” Wayne Rooney said.

Alexis Mac Allister scythed Olmo after 15 minutes, but referee Slavko Vincic inexplicably chose not to even show him a yellow card. Spanish fans were angry. They are all too aware of the lenient treatment Argentina has received at this World Cup. ‘Infantino, Infantino’ they mocked.

Argentina did their best to annoy Spain and there were several flashpoints between the players.

Things escalated further in the middle of the match when Leandro Paredes clashed with several Spanish players.

The stands were filled with celebrities including David Beckham and Tom Cruise (center)

President Donald Trump also watched with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

The duo then presented the medals to the players and handed over the cup to Spain.

Justin Bieber headlines bizarre halftime show that lasts almost half an hour

The game settled into a stalemate of sorts, the antithesis of the Soccer Aid vibe that permeated England’s third-place play-off match against France the day before. There was at least a wave of surprise when the referee showed Lisandro Martinez the card. It was almost the only decision that went Spain’s way all afternoon.

The halftime show came and went in an extravagance of depressing mediocrity. This was very similar to the first 45 minutes, when Argentina failed to manage a single shot on target. At the break, Leandro Paredes came on and within a few minutes was booked for a blow on Max Baena’s back.

Yamal made a move towards the byline midway through the second half and pulled the ball back for substitute Ferran Torres. Torres took a good leap from the edge of the six-yard box but was able to direct his header straight at a grateful Emiliano Martinez.

Argentina collapsed as the game approached extra time. More importantly, Enzo Fernandez exploded. The player, who already had a yellow card, tackled Pau Cubarsi and caught the defender’s back foot. Cubarsi launched his carriage into the air and Fernandez was shown a second yellow card. It felt like a mini-mashup of the crude tactics he employed against England in Atlanta and escaped with impunity.

Increasingly only Emiliano Martinez kept Argentina in the game. He made good saves from Yamal’s free kick and Nico Williams’ header early in extra time. Spain thought they had scored when Martinez kicked the ball out, but VAR ruled that Martinez had been fouled. It felt like another generous call against Argentina.

Spain missed the best chance of the game towards the end of the first half of extra time when Arsenal’s Mikel Merino headed in from close range, but they broke the deadlock in the 106th minute when Williams chipped the ball back to Torres, who then slotted the ball over Emiliano Martinez.

Their victory should have been celebrated. Messi’s descent into twilight was something to be mourned.