Soccer
Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Toni Kroos quipped that “football won” following Spain’s 1-0 success over 10-man Argentina in Sunday’s World Cup final at New York New Jersey Stadium.
Spain were crowned world champions for the second time, and the first since 2010, as Ferran Torres’ 106th-minute winner proved to be the difference.
La Roja were helped by Enzo Fernandez’s sending off in second-half stoppage time, with the Chelsea midfielder dismissed for a second bookable offence.
Luis de la Fuente’s side dominated from start to finish as Argentina became the first team in World Cup final history to not have a shot in 90 minutes.
Argentina’s first attempt was a blocked volley from Lionel Messi in the 117th minute, though they did almost equalise through Giuliano Simeone in stoppage time at the end of extra time.
Argentina also let their frustrations boil over on more than one occasion, not only in the showpiece match but also in their semi-final victory against England, and there were more ugly scenes that followed the full-time whistle.
Football won
— Toni Kroos (@ToniKroos) July 19, 2026
Leandro Paredes was involved in a scuffle with Eric Garcia and Gavi as Spain celebrated their win, with Lionel Scaloni having to pull his midfielder away from that bust-up.
Argentina managed just 34.9% possession while also committing 25 fouls to Spain’s 21, and Kroos, who won the World Cup with Germany in 2014, made his feelings clear on X.
In a two-word social media post, Kroos simply said: “Football won.”
Argentina have now finished as runners-up at the World Cup for the fourth time (also 1930, 1990 and 2014), the joint-most of any side, along with Germany.
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