"Yamal forcibly deposed the football emperor Messi and emerged as the new king." Lee Young-pyo's one-line commentary... A new era launched alongside Spain's championship victory

*This content was translated by AI.

"Yamal forcibly deposed the football emperor Messi and emerged as the new king."

This was the one-line commentary left by Lee Young-pyo, a former South Korean national team player and now a KBS commentator, on the World Cup final.

On the 20th (Korea time), Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in the 2026 FIFA North American World Cup final held at New York/New Jersey Stadium in the United States. The winning goal came from Ferran Torres of Barcelona in the first minute of extra time.

With this victory, Spain claimed its second World Cup title in 16 years, following its first championship at the 2010 South Africa tournament. Having won both Euro 2024 and the North American World Cup, Spain has firmly established itself as the undisputed world's strongest team.

Spain also extended its unbeaten streak in A-match games to 38 consecutive matches. During this period, it recorded 29 wins and 9 draws, surpassing Italy to set a new all-time record for the longest unbeaten run. Its last defeat was a 0-1 loss to Colombia in March 2024.

In contrast, Argentina failed to achieve back-to-back World Cup titles. Despite challenging for the championship again after their 2022 Qatar tournament victory, they could not overcome the final hurdle.

From before the match, the greatest attention was focused on the showdown between Spain's ace Lamine Yamal of Barcelona and "the god of football" Lionel Messi of Inter Miami. Yamal symbolizes the present and future of Spanish football, while Messi is a living legend regarded as one of the greatest players in football history.

The special connection between the two players also drew renewed attention. Nineteen years ago, as an infant, Yamal was bathed by Messi's hand during a photoshoot for a charity calendar when Messi was a young star at Barcelona. As time passed, the two who met as rivals in the World Cup final became figures representing different eras.

After a fierce battle, it was Yamal who lifted the World Cup championship trophy. Beyond just the result, Yamal also won decisively in terms of individual performance.

Yamal recorded four shots and two on-target shots against Argentina's defense today. He successfully dribbled past opponents five times, leading Spain's attack. In contrast, Messi managed only one shot and failed to register a single on-target attempt.

After Spain's championship was confirmed, committee member Lee Young-pyo commented, "Yamal forcibly deposed the football emperor Messi and emerged as king." He condensed the end of the era dominated by Messi and the beginning of a new era led by Yamal into one sentence.

During the match, when both teams were blocked by each other's tight defenses and struggled to create decisive chances, Lee Young-pyo also analyzed that "both teams are thoroughly preparing for their respective aces, Messi and Yamal."

After the final whistle, he summarized, "Spain completely dominated Argentina from start to finish, preventing them from taking even one proper shot. This match appears to have been a fair victory for Spain."

He also added, "Argentina's fighting spirit and passion were tremendous," applauding the runner-up team that fought fiercely until the end.

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*This content was translated by AI.