EAST RUTHERFORD – Spain climbed again to the summit of world football on Sunday when substitute Ferran Torres struck in the 106th minute to prise the World Cup from holders Argentina with a 1-0 victory that crowned a new era but brought precious little beauty.
The biggest prize in football deserved a classic. Instead, the world’s two finest teams produced a suffocating stalemate that drifted towards penalties before Torres finally found the breakthrough with Spain’s 20th attempt on goal.
It was perhaps fitting that the final whistle sparked the game’s liveliest moments, with players pushing, shoving and falling to the ground as Argentina’s frustrations finally boiled over into a brawl.
The euphemism “one for the purists” might have been coined to describe this contest. It was a match almost entirely devoid of quality, chances and risk until Torres, introduced from the bench, finally broke the deadlock.
Messi, the second player after Brazilian great Cafu to feature in three World Cup finals, was a pale shadow of his earlier self, unable to inspire his team.
For Spain, Lamine Yamal barely registered. These two had been billed as the stars of this match, but it was Spain substitutes Torres and Nico Williams who injected some much-needed energy and dynamism into a drab affair.
It was the fifth of the last six World Cup finals to go to extra time, but none of those crowds had endured such flat, joyless football. (Reuters)
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