Miami ¨C Spain climbed to the summit of world soccer again on Sunday when substitute Ferran Torres struck in the 106th minute to pry the World Cup from holder?Argentina with a 1-0 victory that crowned a new era but brought precious little beauty.
The biggest prize in soccer deserved a classic. Instead, the world¡¯s two finest teams produced a suffocating stalemate that drifted toward?penalties before Torres finally found the extra-time 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.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.