With their 1-0 win over defending champions Argentina in the FIFA World Cup final in New Jersey on Sunday, Spain won their second World Cup to add another star to their jersey.
With Ferran Torres scoring the solitary goal of the much- anticipated final in the 106th minute in extra time, Spain became the first nation to be the reigning World Cup champions in men’s and women’s football in the world.
The Luis de la Fuente-coached side had started its World Cup campaign with a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde with Torres missing an easy chance in the match.
Former France striker and 1998 World Cup winner Thierry Henry has termed Spain’s belief in their playing style as the key for their World Cup triumph and shared how everyone had written Spain off after the draw against Cape Verde.
Henry was initially asked about what other countries need to do to win the World Cup before he spoke about how Spain were good on the ball and went about their business in a different way.
“Go to work. Think about all you want to go about it. At every level, they have played the same way. This is why Spain is dominating world football at every level. Men and women, it does not really matter as they go about it the same way. But I wanted to say something very important. We talked about Ferran Torres and before the game we talked about Lionel Messi. You know why? The World Cup for Spain started on a miss by Torres in the six-yard box against Cape Verde. Everyone killed him. Spain cannot score. Spain doesn’t have this. Spain doesn’t have that. I said be careful, stay quiet and calm because they don’t concede goals and they are good on the ball. They will go about it in a different way. Now who scores? That’s what I am saying. Never give up. They know what they are doing and they have been doing it for a very long time,” Henry said on FOX Sports.
Sunday’s win also meant that Spain has now won the European Championships and World Cup title in succession for the second time in their history. The country had earlier achieved the feat with their 2008 Euros-winning campaign and 2010 World Cup title and it’s only the third time that a country has done it. West Germany had won the 1972 Euro followed by the 1974 World Cup. Spain’s title on Sunday also meant that the country became the seventh country to have won multiple World Cup titles.
Henry also spoke about how Spain’s passing was the key to their World Cup campaign. “The best team won. What they do off the ball is what impresses me. You cannot almost put three passes together and when you stop to do that, they get the ball back. If you don’t have the ball … you can’t score,” Henry added.
Sunday’s title win also meant that the country now are on a 38-match unbeaten streak in all competitions. It meant that Spain has now broken the earlier record held by Italy for the longest winning streak by a country in world football.
Ferran Torres extra-time strike dethrones Argentina; Spain crowned champions
Spain has won 14 out of the last 15 matches across World Cup and Euros with their only draw coming against Cape Verde in their opening match in this World Cup. While their key forward Lamine Yamal only scored one goal this World Cup, the Rodri-led Spanish team displayed their dominance throughout the tournament.
Former Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimović shared how the Spanish team takes the opponent’s spirit away. “He (Yamal) came in the tournament and he wasn’t 100 percent. He didn’t have his best tournament, and still, Spain dominated every game. That says how good they are as a team, even if Yamal didn’t perform. They won the World Cup without this guy performing like he normally does. That says how good Spain are, because when they start to play and do those passes, they take your spirit away. They take your hope away. Then, I know, as a player, I know if I don’t touch the ball, if the opponent always keeps the ball, I get crazy. I lose patience. You want to start running after them. You want to start kicking. That is what they did with every team in this tournament. In the end, they are the best nation in the world,” Ibrahimović told FOX Sports.