Thank you for joining us, not just today but for the entire World Cup. This is the end of the liveblogging for the tournament and it’s been a hell of ride.

I will leave you with Jonathan Wilson.

One of Keegan’s most iconic moments remembered.

People have started leaving tributes to Kevin Keegan at St James’ Park.

Kevin Keegan – a life in pictures.

Which is your favourite image of King Kev from down the years?

Athletic Bilbao posted: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Kevin Keegan.

“Kevin faced @athleticclub at San Mames as the @england captain in 1982 and then as the @nufc manager in 1994.

“All our thoughts are with his family and loved ones at this difficult time.

“Rest in peace, King Kev.”

“Everyone at Scunthorpe United is devastated to hear of the passing of former player Kevin Keegan at the age of 75,” Keegan’s first club said.

“A member of the club’s hall of fame, Keegan started his career with Scunthorpe after coming through the youth ranks before breaking into the first team and surpassing 100 appearances for United between 1968 and 1971, scoring 24 times during his three-year stint at the Old Show Ground that saw him attract attention from Bill Shankly’s Liverpool side.

“Keegan was considered one of the best players of his generation and enjoyed a stellar playing career, making almost 750 club appearances, lifting the First Division trophy three times with Liverpool and winning the Ballon d’Or back-to-back in 1978 and 1979 while playing for Hamburg in the Bundesliga.

“Following his illustrious playing career, Keegan would go on to establish himself as one of the very best England had to offer, having stints as England manager as well as being boss of Newcastle United, Fulham and Manchester City.

“With a constant smile on his face, Keegan returned to the Attis Arena in late 2025 to witness the matchday atmosphere once again, giving the Scunthorpe players a pre-match team talk using his inspirational demeanour, before taking time to speak to each and every person he encountered, highlighting his brilliant personality.

“Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences go out to all of “King Kev’s” family, friends and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.”

The BBC has increased its lead over ITV as the UK’s favoured World Cup broadcaster despite the high-profile departure of Gary Lineker as its main presenter.

Data compiled by Barb, seen by the Guardian, shows that the BBC’s peak audience share for Sunday’s final, presented by Gabby Logan, was four times greater than ITV’s, an increase from 3.25 times at the 2022 final in Qatar.
The BBC’s average audience share for TV viewers was 4.06 times greater than ITV’s, compared with 3.4 times four years ago, with the Barb figures not including viewers watching on a digital stream.

The BBC’s peak audience was 15.8m on TV and iPlayer, with ITV’s comparable figure 3.8m.

Back to the World Cup … Jonathan Liew has found hope.

Football’s role as a nation builder is often overstated. France’s World Cup triumph in 1998 was hailed as a vindication of the country’s multiethnic identity, but four years later it sent Jean-Marie Le Pen into the final round of the presidential election. Argentina’s 1978 victory on home soil generated a surge of popularity for the country’s military dictatorship, but by 1983 it had collapsed. England’s run to the European Championship final in 2021 did not, for all the good vibes and open letters, arrest our wider descent into gutter politics and culture war.

But occasionally it can hold up a mirror. And perhaps what this World Cup reflects back at us is a kind of messy hope: that a world of hardening physical borders is doomed to disintegrate on contact with reality. That for all the flags and pageantry, nationality is ultimately little more than a brand, a consumer choice, a piece of content – a mask anyone can happily wear for six weeks, and shed just as easily.

“The Bundesliga family is truly saddened to hear of the passing of football legend, Kevin Keegan.

“During three seasons with @HSV, Keegan helped the club to win their very first Bundesliga title in 1978/79 while claiming back-to-back Ballon d’Or awards in 1978 and 1979. Keegan also helped Hamburger SV to reach the European Cup Final in 1979/80. Mighty Mouse, as he was affectionately known by HSV supporters, scored 40 goals in 113 appearances for HSV during his tenure.

“Our condolences go out to his family, friends and everyone associated with Hamburger SV.”

Our north-east correspondent Louise Taylor on Keegan’s relationship with Newcastle:

The story of Kevin Keegan and Newcastle United is perhaps best described as a three-act play. It involves an enduring and mutual love affair that brings joyous seasons in the sun punctuated by boardroom tensions and tear-stained exits.

Newcastle fans swiftly identified Keegan as a player and then, twice, a manager capable of switching the lights on at St James’ Park. “Special K” made everything about the club seem more vivid and exciting. To watch his 1990s “Entertainers” was to feel truly alive.

Bizarrely one of my clearer memories of King Kev was playing head tennis with Tony Blair. It is amazing what the brain saves.

Liverpool pay tribute to Keegan.

England posted on social media: “We are incredibly saddened by the news that Kevin Keegan OBE has passed away.

“Kevin earned 63 international caps and scored 21 goals between 1972 and 1982, before managing the #ThreeLions from 1999 to 2000.

“Our thoughts and condolences are with Kevin’s family, friends and former clubs.”

Rob Draper written a tribute to Keegan.

Kevin Keegan, who has died aged 75, is the only British player to win the Ballon d’Or twice, was the star of Liverpool’s first European Cup-winning team, a messianic figure at Newcastle United as a player and coach, forging a team so memorable that Fifa’s president wrote to commend him, and the only Englishman to both captain and manage the men’s national team. And yet, as Keegan would ruefully reflect, he will principally be remembered by many for an emotional outburst that precipitated Newcastle’s historic failure in a Premier League title race, a TV interview which presaged the coming era of the modern game.

I am sure neutrals will remember the joys of Newcastle’s football under Keegan. It was an exciting time for the Premier League with the likes of David Ginola and Faustino Asprilla thriving thanks to the freedom Keegan provided.

Alan Shearer: “My Hero. My Manager. My friend. Sleep easy Boss 🥲”

I should say, on a personal level, Keegan gave me one of my favourite ever seasons as a City fan. We absolutely smashed the Championship playing fantastic football, with Ali Bernabia pulling the string, it felt like we would won 5-0 every week.

Man City laud ‘transformative’ Keegan: “Everyone at Manchester City is devastated to learn our former manager Kevin Keegan has passed away, aged 75.

“Kevin was a transformative manager who brought optimism and vibrancy to City during his four-year spell in charge.

“The promotion campaign in 2001/02 will never be forgotten, and Kevin then established us once again as a top Premier League side in the years that followed.

“Our thoughts are with Kevin’s family and friends at this very difficult time.”

Righto, that’s it from me for now and this World Cup. Thanks all for your company and comments across the piece – it’s been an absolute joy – now here’s Will Unwin to bring it home.

Back to De la Fuente, I’ll be really interested to see how England approach that match against Spain in the context of what happened against Argentina. Will they commit to attack, will the balance of the team change, and will Tuchel still be manager? I know the FA said what they said, but elite sport is ruthless and unforgiving; I can’t imagine the players are especially eager to see him again.

Learnings:

The 5ft 8in combative “Mighty Mouse” was not, by his own admission, a natural talent but the son of a south Yorkshire miner trained hard, remained humble and never ducked a challenge, traits that endured him to the Kop. “I learned so much from Shanks. He used to say: ‘If I was a road-sweeper, my street would be the cleanest in the borough.’ I took that to heart,’ he said.

“It was written, and we deserve it,” said a delighted De la Fuente, who has led Spain to European titles at under-19, under-21 and senior level before this triumph. “This team and this wonderful fanbase deserve everything. We had a date with destiny and we wanted to make it count.

“The players have asked me what we have left to win. Together we’ve figured out that it’s the next match in September [against England in the Nations League] because this team is tireless.”

Not quite sure about this, from Ferran Torres, but. How does one squeeze solid gold?

“This isn’t just my goal,” the Barcelona forward said. “It’s for 47 million people. I want to grab the cup and squeeze it. In the end, when you’ve got Messi on the opposing team, you do get a bit nervous, but we always try to play our own game.”

And the Spanish capital really knows about heat.

We might also note that the 2010 final was also a terrible game, and that this it not because Spain made it so, rather their opponents felt it the only way Spain might be beaten. Never has there been a style of football harder to get one over on.

And who takes the Ballon d’Or? Can we really give it to Rodri, who didn’t do much during the season, or Lamine Yamal, who didn’t do loads during the World Cup? If not, does that leave us with Pau Cubarsi?

Team of the tournament time: Unai Simon; Pedro Porro, Saliba, Cubarsi, Cucurella; Rodri, Jordan Henderson, Bellingham; Olise; Messi, Haaland, Mbappé.

Feel free to tell me where I’m wrong.

Tuchel leaving lewis Hall out of his England squad, never mind the first XI, is still grinding my gears'.

Villa meantime, have bought Johan Manzambi, so I guess feel they can spend the Tielemans money on a less creative player – though £38m seems a lot given Wolves went down.

When West Germany beat Hungary in the 1954 final, the moment was termed a “a moment of collective ecstasy”. Should you fancy, you can read more about perhaps the most important match ever played, here.

Something Thomas Tuchel might do well to notice: as ever, Spain were balanced in midfield. They had Rodri, a proper six; Fabián Ruiz, and eight; and Olmo, a 10 able to muck in deeper. That is how you take and sustain control of a game, not by picking three similar players, none of whom you feel able to omit, as Luis de la Fuente did with Pedri.

Lowkey, Dani Olmo was one of my players of the tournament. I love his desire to create mischief – he’s a player defenders can’t take their eyes off – and the clarity of his decision-making. To keep Pedri out of a team, you’ve got to be special, and he is.

But they seem so nice?

I actually felt the UK TV companies made a mess of this. We needed close-ups, different angles, spotlights, arrows, names and analysis.

Thanks Martin – or should that be Martín – and hi again all. The below photo has reminded me that the king of Spain – no not Ashley Giles – along with the Queen and their kids – decided it was for them to insinuate themselves into the squad’s post-match, on-pitch celebrations. No para mí, Claudio.

The Spain squad have posed for a photograph together on the tarmac …

… and with that I will hand you to Daniel Harris. I think this is my last stint on the World Cup news blog until 2030 (the year, not 8.30pm tonight), so until then, take care, thanks for reading, and thanks for all your BTL comments. Adiós!

I guess the trophy went via “carry on” luggage then. I hope Rodri has done his customs paperwork.

Judging by the photos dropping from Madrid on the wires it looks like the plane carrying the team got a quick paint/decal job overnight …

Sam Jones has just messaged me to say the Spanish team have landed. This is the most writing I’ve had to do about tracking a flight since the day Priti Patel was flying back to get sacked. 2017, that was. Simpler times.

Sam Jones is in Madrid for the Guardian, and has this round-up of how the nation’s press has reacted to Spain’s World Cup triumph.

The Spanish squad’s plane is currently the most tracked on FlightRadar24.com.

Sam Jones is in Madrid for the Guardian

It’s fair to say that Madrid – and the rest of Spain - is quite excited by the prospect of the team’s imminent return. La Roja is due to touch down at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport in around 10 minutes.

According to El País, the first of many heroes’ welcomes is already massing at the airport, which sits at the northeastern edge of the capital.

Between 200 and 300 fans are already waiting at Terminal 4 of the airport to welcome the Spanish national team after their World Cup victory. Families with children, groups of friends, and supporters who have traveled from all over the country are lining up in a makeshift corridor, wearing Spanish jerseys, waving flags around their necks, and using their mobile phones, hoping to catch a glimpse of Luis de la Fuente’s team.

I’ve just had of those moments when I wonder if I had enough sleep. I just Googled Marc Cucurella, and a cartoon caricature of him as a cat popped up waving a Spain flag …

… I was doing the search to see what had been written about the incredibly lame attempt by Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez to get the Real Madrid defender sent off during the final for covering his mouth.

The only word needed in the Spanish press today.

“Transfer updates! Get yer transfer updates!”

From the non-football talking points yesterday come these video clips. First the chaos of Argentina agression at the final whistle, in scenes you definitely won’t want to press play on.

And second, the boos when Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino entered the field.

Oops, sorry, wrong video. My bad. I meant this one …

The scenes in Madrid look like it was an incredible experience last night – although Spanish fans don’t seem to have quite mastered the English art of where to stick your flare.

Hello, good afternoon / evening / morning etc. I am not saying that was one of the most boring World Cup finals ever, but by the time it had gone to extra-time in my house we were second-screening it on the laptop so we could continue our own Puzzle Bobble™2X/BUST-A-MOVE™2 world championship.

Anyway, the big football news my way is that tomorrow’s Walthamstow FC match against a celebrity XI in memory of Kaylen Dennis has been postponed because of, and I quote, “fox damage to the Wadham Lodge pitch (genuinely)”.

Martin Belam is primed for his stint. In a bit.

Hearts will face Turkish side Fenerbahce or Gornik Zabrze from Poland in the third qualifying round of the Champions League if they get past Sturm Graz.

The Edinburgh side, under the tutelage of new head coach Wouter Vrancken, will face the Austrians in the first leg of their second qualifier on Tuesday before the second leg at Tynecastle next week.

The draw which was made on Monday revealed that, should Irish side Shamrock Rovers get past Armenian side Ararat-Armenia, they will face Egnatia of Albania or Celje from Slovenia.

If Northern Irish outfit Larne overcome Crvena Zvezda of Serbia, they will take on the winners of Vikingur Reykjavik and Hapoel Beer-Shava in the third qualifying round. PA Media

Shall we all discuss the melee instigated by Nahuel Molina, who aimed a punch at Rodri, then Leandro Paredes had a pop at Eric Garcia? It was all a touch pathetic from Argentina after they were deservedly beaten.

They really enjoyed beating England and fair play to them for that, but they acted with zero grace in New Jersey.

I watched both channels because I was paid to do so. It was a finely balanced thing between the two broadcasters. I think ITV missed a trick by sticking with their main show being hosted from the Brooklyn studio when they could have been at the stadium. Equally, I thought their commentary was more enjoyable amid a pretty dreadful game. BBC’s trio of guests seemed a bit livelier and very happy to be in attendance, while Roy Keane and chums felt less engaged.

Most people select the BBC purely to avoid the adverts and on this occasion, they would have been right to do so. ITV, as is their business model, had ads straight after the half-time whistle which lasted for a while, resulting in the briefest of punditry chats before the awful 'show’ was played in full.

Brazil international Joao Gomes has joined Aston Villa in a deal reportedly worth £38m.

Midfielder Gomes, 25, who has won 10 caps for his country, ends a three-and-a-half-year spell at Wolves where he made 130 appearances after signing from Flamengo in Brazil.

Wolves technical director Matt Jackson said: “Joao deserves everything he gets from the game. He’s the type of professional that coaches love and players love, so he will go on to be the outstanding player that we know he is.”

Gomes’ arrival at Villa comes following the departure of Youri Tielemans to Manchester United and Morgan Rogers on the brink of making a £117m move to Chelsea. PA Media

The Austria midfielder Xaver Schlager is set to undergo his Nottingham Forest medical this week after agreeing to sign on a free transfer from RB Leipzig on a two-year deal.

Manchester United have signed Tynan Thompson, an 18-year-old winger, from Tottenham for an initial fee of about £4m plus up to £4m in add-ons related to first-team achievement. Spurs have matching rights and a 15% sell-on clause.

Thompson, who has played seven times for England’s under-18s, scored 13 goals and made six assists for Spurs at youth level last term, getting seven goals in seven Uefa Youth League games. The signing of Thompson, who was involved in Tottenham first-team matchday squads, is subject to his registration.

I appreciate the World Cup can be vaguely interesting if you’re into that sort of thing. Personally, West Brom v Bromley playing a friendly in Portugal is what I am all about.

The Baggies won 4-1.

Spanish midfielders Gavi and Fabian Ruiz will receive their weight in tomatoes from their hometown Los Palacios y Villafranca, and will have sports centres named after them.

A 13-year-old died and two ⁠people were injured when a fountain partially collapsed in ⁠western Spain ⁠in ​the early hours on Monday, marring mass celebrations of ⁠the country’s second-ever soccer World Cup victory, emergency services said.

The ⁠accident occurred shortly after midnight in ​Ciudad Rodrigo, a ‌walled medieval ‌city of about 12,000 in Salamanca ‌province, near the border with Portugal.

Hundreds of residents had gathered at the Arbol Gordo fountain in the city’s centre when the upper ‌part of the monument broke loose and struck several people, ​regional emergency services said.

In a statement, Ciudad Rodrigo’s town hall expressed condolences for the victim. “The entire city feels ⁠this loss and accompanies the minor’s ​friends ​and family in ​their grief ... What should have ​been ‌a celebration ​of ​the Spanish national team’s World Cup victory has turned into a tragedy,” it said. Reuters

The blatherer’s blatherer indeed. Strap yourselves in for me desperately avoiding discussion of what happened at half time.

Anyroad up, on that note I shall take my leave of you for now. Here’s Will Unwin to blather with you through the next bit.

I’m hoping that because things have become so bad, they must necessarily now become better – Trump’s intervention in the actual sport is, I think, a low watermark that makes reform essential and actually possible.

Leandro Paredes, in particular, performed like Richie Aprile with a hangover; I wonder if he was ticking having been curiously omitted from the starting XI. It’s not the first headloss we’ve seen from him but it may well be the most complete, and it didn’t begin at full time, rather almost as soon as he came on. I guess if you play on the precipice and, to be competitive, maybe Argentina had to, it’s not always easy to avoid falling off and when you do, almost impossible to clamber back on.

So what did we make of the post-match scenes which can only be described as EVERYTHING that NO ONE wants to see?

First of all, that their soundtracking by Rosalía was perfection – please, if ever you get the chance to see her live, I implore you so to do – but otherwise, I’m torn. On the one hand, it’s what Argentina do, and part of the richness of intensity they bring to proceedings but, on the other, dearie me, what a show of themselves they made.

“Had England reached the final I assume Bieber would have been bumped from the pony half time show to squeeze in a few words from Anthony Barry?” suggests Darrien Bold.

After a terrific debut record against Croatia, like the rest of the England camp, he struggled to scale the same heights thereafter. Burt I’ver high hopes for him in the future.

And of course this is part of the same vandalism.

It’s a rum do, isn’t it? Trump and Infantino, the bitter Chuckle Brothers, to me, to you-ing the trophy because neither wants to let the other hold it alone, then Trump sticking in the Spain photo while not actually watching the trophy-lift, concerned only about his infiltration of it.

Everything but the girl football.

I’m sure he doesn’t mean to be, but he is quietly damning of the manager.

“The enthusiasm he has, the emotion he brings, the tactical experience he has … it doesn’t mean you’re going to get it right every time. We want to get it right on the biggest occasions and he expects that from himself as well. He’s a fantastic coach. He not only gave the players belief but he gave the country belief that it was our year. That is why it hurts even more than other years because everyone believed we were going all the way.

“Everyone has to process it. He has to process it himself. We’re still in that grieving stage, the emotional stage, and we’ll be in that for the next few weeks. It won’t be until the next camp where you think about what the future holds and what the next target is. We’ll have conversations as captain and manager and with other teammates and staff, to see where we can be better.”

I said earlier there’ll be some regrets in the England squad, especially after watching that final. Here’s Harry Kane…

Though he looked like a boxer forced into it, I did quite enjoy Rooney’s syoot. But my favourite Rooney bit was after the game, when Joe Hart was speaking and he decided what was going on on the pitch was more interesting than what was being said on the gantry, so fully turned his back to engage with that instead. I don’t know if he has ADHD and I’m certainly not going to diagnose him, but it reminded me a lot of my own.

It was, of course, an absolute nonsense; anyone who cares about a half-time show at a World Cup final has no business being there. I can’t, though, deny cracking a smile when Madonna appeared flanked by Ronaldo and Ronaldinho; I’m not sure what that says about me.

To change tack for a moment, he may not have played any soccer, but I’d be surprised if any England player had a Letterboxd top four as eclectic and considered as Kobbie Mainoo. I especially respect his pick of The Prestige, all the more so as conjuring a route out of impossible situations with sorcery, sleight and misdirection is exactly what he does on the pitch – and exactly what his team needed more of, though their manager didn’t know it.

Oh man, these are sensational.

Are you ready for some eyebeall sweating? In the early 90s, Nico Williams’ parents, Maria and Felix, left Ghana and crossed the Sahara barefoot in search of different opportunities – and Maria was pregnant with Iñaki at the time. Now, her younger son is a world champion, so what did he do with his medal?

Another meriting rhapsodising is Pedro Porro, who has worn all sorts of aggravation at Spurs to mature into a fine all-round right-back, physical, technical, positionally disciplined, useful in the tackle, an over and underlapping threat, and a calm finisher. I’m expecting big things from him next season, given Spurs have a high-level manager to whom they’ve provided transfer funds.

To return to the Spanish defence, though, Pau Cubarsi – what a player. I wonder whether, at some point, his relative lack of physicality costs him, but his nous, composure and ability on the ball are exceptional. Generally speaking, centre-backs break through later than players in any other position, so for him to be starting for champion sides, Barcelona and Spain, at 19 having debuted at 16, is extraordinary.

Here’s David Hytner’s match report…

“One goal conceded was it?” asks Gary Naylor. “The best defences tend to win trophies.”

Previous Spain trophy-winners had great defensive records too, but those, I’d argue, were the consequence of the greatest midfield ever – Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta – with Xabi Alonso added to it and sometimes Cesc Fàbregas as well – denying the opposition possession, especially in dangerous areas. And of course that’s still the principal aim, it’s just that the players aren’t quite as good in this era; the defensive record is as it is as much because Porro-Cubarsi-Laporte-Cucurella is a terrific back four in its own right.

Tell you what, bet there’s some regret among that England squad having watched that final. A tiny soupçon of courage – which sounds like a oxymoron but in this case is not, so minute is the amount about which we’re talking – was all it took to stop them losing to a side they ought really to have beaten with something to spare, and they were incapable of finding it. The players will, I imagine, be feeling extremely poorly with it and rightly so – but is the manager still blaming them, or will he have gone under the duvet when the night got dark and accepted his role, first in creating the environment, then making the changes largely responsibly for the subsidence?

Ed Aarons was on player ratings…

Is there a number less than zero to describe Argentina’s collective effort?

And the match in pictures…

Let’s begin by reliving the great Rob Smyth’s MBM report…

Thanks Jo and, for the last time – sniff, snivel – greetings greetings one and all. “Dizguzting” – emphasis mine – is exactly the word I used to describe this abomination to my wife, with particular reference to Argentina spending the first 117 minutes of the final taking a grand total of zero shots at goal – far fewer than the cheap shots they took at the Spanish players. The trophy has gone to the correct place, so I guess we can sort of celebrate that – and, of course, a tournament which, though it phutted at the end, was a ridiculous amount of fun, love and joy. Please feel free to send in your analysis, reflections, best, worst and all of that. It’s over, but it’s in us.

As Nick Ames writes, after a “tournament that has wrenched, tweaked and torn at the sport’s very fabric, the football itself appeared to be a sideshow for much of the afternoon”.

It concluded with a disorientating fever dream beneath a bright blue American sky … Through it all Infantino and Trump sat abreast, absorbing the spectacle behind reinforced glass.

Back to the action on the field, or rather slightly adjacent to it. A lacklustre “closing ceremony” in which Tom Cruise was drowned out by the crowd got proceedings under way in New Jersey. A half-time show no one asked for filled the gap in the middle that didn’t need to be plugged. And finally, having kept his physical distance all tournament, US president Donald Trump tried to steal the show just as the curtain was falling.

“I think I heard a match commentator say that the last team that beat Spain was Scotland. Does that mean Scotland have won the World Cup?!” asks Peter Oh.

I don’t think that’s how it (unofficially) works sadly. The Knowledge took a look at the old winner-stays-on format earlier in the tournament, when Australia were unofficial world champions. But then the USA beat Australia, and then Turkey beat the USA … so I think it’s Turkey. But I could definitely be wrong.

What happened to Argentina’s talismanic captain? Was that the last we will see of him on the World Cup stage? Quite possibly.

Pablo Iglesias Maurer puts it simply: The world’s greatest player will not see his legacy sullied by this defeat but his team’s display destroyed the game.

With their process and craft, Spain subdued “an Argentina team built on faith, devotional energy and a belief in the frankly irrational magic of your lone scurrying 39-year-old genius,” Barney Ronay writes.

Well, sometimes that magic will forsake you. The deus ex machina will refuse to appear. And he is perhaps gone from this stage now for good, a Prospero giving his final address to the crowd from a clanky metal bowl outside New York.

In their calm, Spain were still relentless, Sid Lowe says.

Again and again they had come, again and again they had been halted but they would not be denied. A dozen different players had taken aim at Emi Martínez’s goal but somehow he was still standing and time was slipping away, yet Spain refused to do so, so they came some more.

The post-match altercation was a sad reflection of Argentina’s foiled attempt to use their physicality against a very patient Spain. And that patience ultimately paid off, Jacob Steinberg writes, with Argentina just become more frustrated as Spain refused to take the bait.

The stats tell the story, too: Argentina’s xG was 0.00 until conceding forced a desperate late flurry. Even then, though, the threat increased only to 0.22.

As Spain began to celebrate their second World Cup victory, Leandro Paredes decided to continue his game after the final whistle, making sure the ending was as sour as it possibly could be. The Argentina player was involved in a melee just seconds after the whistle blew when he charged at Eric García and pushed him in the neck. Paredes then threw Gavi to the ground, receiving a red card for his troubles.

It was the triumph of an idea, an identity. Of an unshakable and patient faith. And when it was over, Spain’s new generation having emulated the one from the 2010 World Cup, all of those legendary names, there was simply delirium for them.