Spain have been crowned 2026 FIFA World Cup champions, defeating defending champions Argentina 1-0 after extra time in a tense and dramatic final at the New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, United States.

Ferran Torres emerged as Spain’s hero, scoring the decisive goal in the 106th minute after connecting with a fine move involving Nico Williams to finally break Argentina’s stubborn resistance.

The goal proved enough to hand Spain their second FIFA World Cup title, 16 years after lifting their first trophy in South Africa in 2010.

The final lived up to its billing as a clash between two football giants, pitting Lionel Messi’s Argentina against a youthful Spanish side inspired by teenage sensation Lamine Yamal

Spain dominated possession and created the better chances throughout the contest but were repeatedly denied by Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, whose outstanding saves kept the match level during regulation time.

Argentina’s hopes suffered a major setback in stoppage time of the second half when midfielder Enzo Fernández was sent off after receiving a second yellow card, forcing the South Americans to play extra time with 10 men.

Spain eventually made their numerical advantage count as Torres found the breakthrough that settled the contest.

The victory capped a remarkable tournament for Spain, who defeated Austria, Portugal, Belgium and France on their way to the final before overcoming Argentina to reclaim football’s biggest prize.

Argentina, seeking a fourth World Cup title and back-to-back triumphs after their 2022 success, fell just short despite a determined defensive display.

Spain’s triumph cements the country’s return to the summit of world football and crowns an impressive generation of players led by coach Luis de la Fuente, whose side combined youthful flair with tactical discipline throughout the tournament.

Bukayo Saka scored a historic hat-trick as England defeated France 6-4 in a breathtaking FIFA World Cup encounter, sealing victory in one of the highest-scoring matches of the tournament.

The Arsenal winger became only the fourth England player to score a World Cup hat-trick, joining Geoff Hurst (1966), Gary Lineker (1986) and Harry Kane (2018).

England made a dream start, taking the lead after just three minutes when Declan Rice fired a powerful long-range effort beyond Mike Maignan.

Saka thought he had doubled the lead in the 12th minute, but the goal was ruled out for offside. England, however, remained in control and made it 2-0 in the 18th minute as Ezri Konsa headed home from Rice’s corner.

France struggled to cope with England’s pace and movement, and Saka struck twice before halftime. He finished from Marcus Rashford’s pass in the 37th minute before adding another in first-half stoppage time with a superb strike from the edge of the box to send England into the break with a commanding 4-0 lead.

Kylian Mbappe pulled one back three minutes into the second half before setting up Bradley Barcola to reduce the deficit to 4-2 in the 54th minute.

The pressure continued as Mbappe combined with Michael Olise, whose pass allowed the Real Madrid forward to score France’s third goal in the 66th minute.

England regained breathing space in the 87th minute after Malo Gusto fouled an opponent inside the penalty area. Saka calmly converted the spot kick to complete his hat-trick and restore England’s two-goal advantage at 5-3.

France refused to give up, with Ousmane Dembele scoring deep into stoppage time to make it 5-4 and set up a tense finish.

However, Jude Bellingham settled the contest almost immediately, producing a brilliant solo run before firing England’s sixth goal into the bottom corner in the 98th minute.

Despite the defeat, Mbappe continued his remarkable World Cup scoring run. His goal took him to 22 World Cup goals, moving him ahead of Lionel Messi as the competition’s all-time leading scorer. He also finished the tournament with 10 goals, becoming only the fourth player to score 10 or more goals at a single World Cup after Just Fontaine, Sándor Kocsis and Gerd Müller.

Olise also set a new World Cup record with his seventh assist of the tournament, but it was Saka’s unforgettable night that secured England’s famous victory

President Bola Tinubu has once again given his administration a pass mark, saying that Nigeria is doing well under his watch

Tinubu made the remarks on Wednesday while receiving a delegation from Deloitte Africa, led by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ruwayda Redfearn, at the State House, maintaining that his ongoing financial and fiscal reforms are necessary to reposition Nigeria’s the economy.

Tinubu expressed satisfaction that the reforms had steadily stabilised the economy over three years.

While he acknowledged the pains of the reforms, he declared that the “bitter medicine” was necessary, submitting that the economy “is making serious foundational progress.”

Tinubu said the reforms have stimulated the economy, strengthened the fiscal and revenue sectors, repositioned financial institutions, and prepared the country to be more globally relevant and competitive.
“We are following the example of Deloitte’s greatness to change things from the foundation, building the necessary future for our people.

“Yes, reforms are difficult. It has not been a McDonald’s customer relationship but a harvester of good things, if implemented well, and that is what we are about.

“Thank you for your partnership in paying attention to what we are doing here, as we have heard from the Honourable Minister of Finance about the fiscal, revenue and tax reforms that have taken place and are moving the nation forward.

“The reforms on revenue will continue to stimulate growth. And the effect of the reform? Yes, some issues are difficult to take the bitter medicine, but it is working well. For the economy, Nigeria is making serious foundational progress.”

The President further appealed to Deloitte Africa to improve its impact on the Nigerian economy by training and recruiting the dynamic youth population.

“The family of Deloitte; you just reminded me of my cradle years in accountancy and where I cut my childhood accounting teeth in Chicago. Deloitte has a good training programme, and I believe you will continue to reflect that.”

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, who spoke on the reforms and impact, urged the leadership of the accounting and business firm to focus on building capacity among the youth.

In his presentation, the CEO of Deloitte Africa, Ruwayda Redfearn, said the global organisation is primarily focused on digital and business transformation, with over 500,000 employees worldwide working across various roles and locations, including over 6,000 in Africa.

She said the accountancy firm’s revenue was $74 billion in 2025.

“We are before you to say that we want to serve. We have a local team on the ground that is ready, as well as the global firm, to support you and support your administration as you lead the country.”

The Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte Africa, Yomi Olugbenro, assured the President of the firm’s support for the reforms.

“We do what we do because of the philosophy that our Africa CEOs talk about – making an impact that matters. Where we are at the moment, we believe that the ground has been solidly laid. There is a need to truly extract more value and deliver the dividends of democracy to ordinary Nigerians on the street. The bigger work is really about how to cascade some of those big reforms further down.

“We do believe that with the capabilities that the firm has all over the world, with the half a million people that our CEO spoke about, we have used cases, examples, experiences of how we supported nations all around the world, so Nigeria will definitely benefit from those experiences.

“So that is why we are here, and we welcome the invitation that you may grant us as to where exactly you want us to support you,’’ he added.