“Destiny was written.” Nothing breaks Ferran Torres. He never gives up. The Shark always waits for his moment. He embraces his role in this team, just as he does at Barça, City, or Valencia. If he has to be a substitute for Mikel Oyarzabal, so be it. If he has to endure criticism and mockery, he stays “focused.” His day hadn’t come in this World Cup, perhaps because a place in glory was reserved for him. From Fuentealbilla to Foios, from Andrés Iniesta in Johannesburg to Ferran in the 106th minute in New York. The Valencian couldn’t leave empty-handed. At least he had to score one, as in the European Championship. He had hit the posts or the goalkeepers, or VAR had taken it away from him in this World Cup, but the moment came point-blank and he turned it into the second star.
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“I didn’t think, I saw the ball coming and I think I deserved it. That’s why it came to me. I’m still not aware of what we just did. I just want to grab the Cup and squeeze it. I need a little time to assimilate it. It was a goal for 47 million people,” the Valencian stammered, emotional but composed. “It was a huge release because it was a tough World Cup on a personal level. We lived with the criticism. I’m a believer, I left everything in God’s hands and He gave it to me. God gives to those who deserve it most, although this goal is for 47 million people,” explained the hero of New Jersey, with the senyera around his neck and looking for his parents and sister with his eyes, who have accompanied him throughout the tournament. They have seen him make history, win an MVP in the world final.
Don’t cry for us, Argentina
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The diplomacy of the box
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Spain had chained chances, one after another, in superiority, ten against nine, due to the expulsion of Enzo Fernández, and nine against eight, because Leo Messi only appeared when it was necessary to revive a dying Argentina that shot twice in added time of extra time. Then it still had some life because the semi-automatic offside caught Ferran’s advanced shoulder and disallowed the second goal. Nico Williams had found him again, a game-changer on the wing from the 75th minute on.
The team had tried everything. Lamine Yamal said it before the match with a very meaningful photo: “For you and for the street.” A message to his self from just over a decade ago, still wearing the anorak from La Torreta, the club where he started kicking a ball. If the pitch had been up to the level of the match, his duel with Nicolás Tagliafico would have been even more spectacular. How the Argentine held him back until he drove him crazy. He had the first chance relying on Dani Olmo, who, pressed by Enzo Fernández from behind, gave him a wall pass and he stood at the edge of the small box to test Dibu Martínez. The keeper stretched, but he was also lucky that the shot grazed Lisandro Martínez and lost its edge. It was the only maneuver in which Tagliafico couldn’t keep up with him, because he then had help from Nico González and Alexis Mac Allister.
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In the battle fought to contain Spain’s wave-like attack, the Argentines suffered wear and tear that took its toll, even though Slavko Vincic didn’t want to lower the yellow card threshold too much. It ended with Lisandro Martínez leaving due to injury and Enzo Fernández sent off. Nicolás Otamendi had to come out to play his last match with the Albiceleste and ended up dirtying it by punching Gavi during the celebrations.
Spain had control, raised to 80% with an 89% pass accuracy, and ended up winning the title. 26 players make history, but also Luis de la Fuente, who once again showed he knows his players’ souls very well when he sent Martín Zubimendi and Éric García to debut in extra time. “This is a generation of footballers who are an example. They have grown faithful to the idea, making it better and better, with a sense of family. I feel proud. It is an honor to have accompanied them on this journey,” emphasized the man from La Rioja, who also touches glory in New York.
This group of players who are a family take what they had come to seek since June 11, with patience and confidence: the World Cup. But also individual titles they will never forget: Pau Cubarsí was the best young player, Unai Simón the best goalkeeper, and Rodrigo Hernández, the Spanish Golden Ball, was named the best player of the entire World Cup. These three are the backbone of the Spanish team that in the United States, and under Messi’s gaze, embroidered the second star on the jersey.
