‘Honestly I can’t believe it’: Ferran Torres reacts after firing Spain to World Cup glory against Messi’s Argentina

Spain’s Ferran Torres (7) kisses the trophy after the World Cup final. (AP photo) Spain’s World Cup finals hero Ferran Torres admitted he still struggled to believe what he had achieved after scoring the extra-time winner to seal a historic 1-0 victory over Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the 2026 World Cup final.Introduced from the bench by coach Luis de la Fuente, the Barcelona forward etched his name into Spanish football folklore with a decisive strike in the 106th minute at the MetLife Stadium. Moments after the final whistle, an emotional Torres admitted the magnitude of the occasion hadn’t sunk in yet. “Honestly, I can’t believe it. I’m just trying to enjoy it, but I don’t know what’s going on,” Torres said in an interview with the host of the broadcast in a video shared by DAZN Football on X. “I wasn’t thinking too much. I just saw the ball coming to me and I just shot it with the power of all Spaniards.”The goal crowned Spain world champions for just the second time after their first triumph in 2010 and ended Argentina’s hopes of becoming the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to successfully defend the FIFA World Cup.

“The target was 47 million people”

Torres later dedicated his winning match to the Spanish people, insisting that the triumph belonged to the whole country and not just the team.“The goal was for 47 million people; it wasn’t just me or the 26 players here,” Torres said, according to FIFA. “I believe today’s result was written in the stars. The game was there for us to win. We were far from our people, but we did our best to make them feel as close as possible.”Spain dominated the match from the opening whistle, controlling possession, creating the vast majority of chances and limiting Argentina to almost nothing in attack. Still, it took until extra time for La Roja to finally break through.Just 37 seconds into the second period of extra time, Pedro Porro floated in a deep cross that Nico Williams brilliantly headed back across the goal. Torres timed his run perfectly before finishing with his left foot into the roof of the net behind Emiliano Martinez, whose 12 saves kept Argentina alive for more than 100 minutes.

Facing Messi on the biggest stage

Torres also acknowledged the unique pressure of facing Lionel Messi in what is expected to be the Argentina captain’s final appearance at the World Cup.“All finals are difficult. When Messi is in the opposing team, the nervousness always creeps in,” admitted Torres. “But at the end of the day we’ve always stuck to our guns to play our own brand of football and I think we showed that again today.A disciplined display from Spain capped off one of the most dominant World Cup campaigns in recent memory. Luis de la Fuente’s side finished the tournament unbeaten, conceding just one goal in eight matches to add to their UEFA Euro 2024 crown.