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Sixteen years and two unrelated substitutes named Torres separate Spain's last two World Cup–winning goals. The gap between them explains this team better than either goal does on its own. Thirty-nine seconds into the second period of extra time, a loose ball dropped awkwardly in the Argentina box, and Ferran Torres didn't wait for it to bounce twice. One touch, left foot, off the underside of the bar. MetLife Stadium came apart. Somewhere behind him, Lionel Messi turned away

Pau Cubarsí has started every minute of Spain's run to the World Cup final, posted passing accuracy no defender at this tournament has matched, and broken a clean sheet record held by Paolo Maldini. He is 19. Almost nobody is talking about him. When Spain beat France 2-0 in the semi-final, the conversation immediately turned to who had scored. Mikel Merino got both goals. Lamine Yamal made the chance for the second with a pass that skipped through France's defensive line in t

Captain's first World Cup hat-trick sends holders past Algeria in tournament opener 3-0. 16 goals. 200 games. Just another night for No. 10 A Historic Night for Messi Lionel Messi pulled level with Germany's Miroslav Klose as the joint all-time leading scorer in World Cup history, netting three goals as defending champions Argentina kicked off their title defence with a commanding win over Algeria. The match marked Messi's 200th appearance for his country, and the treble was