Sport Desk :
Waiting with bated breath. One attack after another, shot after shot – Spain could not score a goal. In the World Cup final, Spain was not playing against Argentina, but only against Emiliano Martinez. How many sure goals did he save Argentina from! Finally, Argentina could not survive the organized attack of Spain.
The desired moment came in the 106th minute. Ferran Torres scored the winning goal. That goal became the winner of the World Cup. Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in a 120-minute game and became the World Cup champion.
After 90 minutes of the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Spain finally found the net in extra time. Spain secured the World Cup with a great volley goal by substitute Ferran Torres. Despite a desperate effort with Lionel Messi in front until the last minute, the 10-man Argentina could not equalize.
At the end of the regular time (90+3 minutes), Enzo Fernandez was sent off after being shown a red card, and Spain started extra time with a numerical advantage. It took only 37 seconds to take advantage of that opportunity.
Spain attacked from the right as soon as the second half of extra time began. Pedro Porro’s cross was controlled by Nico Williams at the far post. He skillfully lowered the ball in front of Ferran Torres. Without a moment’s hesitation, the Barcelona forward beat Emiliano Martinez with a powerful right-footed volley.
Spain took a 1-0 lead with that goal in the 106th minute. Torres became only the fifth footballer in history to score as a substitute in a World Cup final. He also achieved the feat of scoring in the final as the first substitute after Germany’s Mario Gotze in 2014.
Spain was desperate for a goal from the first half of extra time. Emiliano Martinez made a great save from Nico Williams’ header in the 93rd minute. In the 96th minute, Williams sent the ball into the net, but the referee disallowed it. The referee ruled that Mikel Merino had fouled him in the box. Although there was a lot of controversy about this, Argentina regained its composure after the goal was disallowed.
Emiliano Martinez repeatedly stood as a wall in front of Spain’s successive attacks. Williams’ header in the 93rd minute, Merino’s shot in the 96th minute, and then several more dangerous attacks were blocked by the Argentine goalkeeper. However, in the end, he had nothing to do with Torres’s great volley.
After the goal, Argentina attacked with all their might. Lionel Messi tried to create opportunities from set pieces and corners one after another.
In the 115th minute, his cross from the corner almost went straight into the net, but the ball went over the net. In the 117th minute, Mikel Merino blocked Messi’s powerful shot with his mouth. The Spanish midfielder risked his life to save his team from a sure goal.
In added time, Juliano Simeone had a golden opportunity to equalize after receiving the ball from a corner. However, his shot flew far over Simeone’s crossbar.
Shortly before, Merino and young defender Pau Kubersi had jointly dealt with a dangerous situation created by Messi’s free-kick.
Despite their desperate efforts until the final whistle, 10-man Argentina could not equalize. Spain reached the brink of victory in the World Cup final with the only goal from Ferran Torres in extra time.
Views: 3
