This was my World Cup, match by match. Thank you to @OndaCero_es for an unforgettable journey, and thank you to everyone who joined me in this dream ❤️
ESP 4-1 CRO (FT)
Spain under Del Bosque:
35 matches unbeaten in a row
76.3% wins
14.9% defeats
2.23 goals for per match
0.69 goals against per match
11 wins, 6 draws and 7 defeats vs World Cup-winning nations
Spain under Luis de la Fuente:
40 matches unbeaten in a row (and counting)
76.9% wins
3.8% defeats
2.56 goals for per match
0.73 goals against per match
10 wins, 1 draw and 0 defeats vs World Cup-winning nations
TWO GLORIOUS, LEGENDARY SIDES.
AND YES, THERE IS A DEBATE. YOU BET THERE IS.
🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸
Lamine Yamal comes off. He is the youngest player with 2+ goals and 1+ assist in a single match in the entire history of the Spain national team:
Lamine Yamal did it aged 19 years and 78 days
Raúl did it aged 21 years and 273 days
Etxeberria also did it aged 21 years and 273 days
ESP 2-1 CRO (Pubill 31') - Croatia equalised with a goal from Beljo, but the joy lasted just 2 minutes and 34 seconds.
3 of the last 4 goals Spain have conceded have been headers from wide crosses (De Ketelaere, Kane and Beljo).
Pubill is the first Atlético defender to score for Spain since 2013 (Juanfran vs Equatorial Guinea).
Spain have just pulled off the Netherlands' 1974 World Cup Final trick. Kick-off, 26 passes with uninterrupted possession, and the first Croatian to touch the ball was Livakovic — picking it out of the net.
ESP 1-0 CRO (2') - Lamine Yamal scored after 104 seconds at Wembley and after 70 seconds in Sevilla today.
Spain have scored within the opening 2 minutes in two consecutive matches for the FIRST TIME in their 106 years of history.
RAC 2-3 BOC (FT) - Historic comeback by Boca (from 2-0 down to 2-3) with 3 headed goals from Enner Valencia in 23 minutes.
Last hat-trick this fast in the Copa Argentina:
🇦🇷 Jonathan Herrera (Talleres 3-3 Deportivo Armenio, 2025) - in 5 minutes: 50', 53' and 55'
Last players with 3 headed goals in Argentine football:
🇪🇨 ENNER VALENCIA (Racing 2-3 Boca, Copa Argentina 2026)
🇨🇴 Miguel Borja (River 5-0 Vélez, Copa de la Liga 2024)
🇦🇷 Marco Rubén (Colón 1-4 Rosario Central, Liga Profesional 2021)
North Korea lost today's U-20 Women's World Cup final on penalties after a flawless run: not a single goal conceded in 7 matches.
These are all the national teams (any gender, any age category) that left a World Cup without conceding a single goal. Only one of them went on to win it:
🇳🇬 NIGERIA - Men's U-17 1989 (7-0) - Out in the quarter-finals
🇨🇭 SWITZERLAND - Men's senior 2006 (4-0) - Out in the round of 16
🇩🇪 GERMANY - Women's senior 2007 (21-0) - CHAMPIONS
🇪🇸 SPAIN - Women's U-17 2025 (12-0) - Out in the round of 16
🇰🇵 NORTH KOREA - Women's U-20 2026 (16-0) - Runners-up
North Korea are the FIRST team to string together SEVEN CONSECUTIVE clean sheets in a single World Cup edition (men's or women's, any age category)
NOR 1-2 POR (FT) - Huge win for Portugal in Oslo on a calamitous night for Nyland.
Cristiano Ronaldo had not watched a full NON-friendly match of his national team from the bench in 18 years (Switzerland 2-0 Portugal, matchday 3 of the Euro 2008 group stage)
Erling Haaland had not lost after scoring for his national team since 08.06.2024 (3-1 in a friendly in Denmark). It's the fifth time the cyborg has lost with Norway after scoring.
#GetThisChip - Michael Matthews, silver at the elite men's Worlds road race. He ties Raymond Poulidor for the most medals without a single gold in the championship's history:
🇦🇺 MICHAEL MATTHEWS: 🥈 2015 · 🥉 2017 · 🥉 2022 · 🥈 2026
🇫🇷 Raymond Poulidor: 🥉 1961 · 🥉 1964 · 🥉 1966 · 🥈 1974
With 4 podiums he also matches Greg LeMond's record for a non-European rider.
#GetThisChip - FIRST TIME EVER in the history of the elite men's Worlds road race: four of the top five finishers are from outside Europe.
1st 🇺🇸 Brandon McNulty
2nd 🇦🇺 Michael Matthews
3rd 🇳🇱 Mathieu van der Poel
4th 🇺🇸 Quinn Simmons
5th 🇲🇽 Isaac del Toro
The previous record was 2, set in 2004: Australians Stuart O'Grady and Allan Davis.
#GetThisChip - Isaac del Toro, 5th in the elite men's Worlds road race. Best ever result by a Mexican.
Latin Americans in the top 8:
🇨🇴 1991: Álvaro Mejía (4th)
🇧🇷 2005: Murilo Fischer (5th)
🇨🇴 2017: Fernando Gaviria (8th)
🇲🇽 2025: Isaac del Toro (7th)
🇲🇽 2026: ISAAC DEL TORO (5th)
#GetThisChip - USA put THREE riders in the top 8 of the elite men's Worlds road race: Brandon McNulty (1st), Quinn Simmons (4th) and Matteo Jorgenson (8th).
FIRST TIME EVER for a non-European nation, and the first for ANY nation since Italy in 2008.
Nations with 3+ riders in the top 8:
🇮🇹 Italy: 14 times (last in 2008)
🇧🇪 Belgium: 11 (last in 1981)
🇫🇷 France: 10 (last in 1988)
🇺🇸 USA: 1 (2026)
🇨🇭 Switzerland: 1 (1938)
🇦🇹 Austria: 1 (1928)
#GetThisChip - FIRST TIME EVER in 93 editions of the elite men's Worlds road race: gold AND silver both go to riders from outside Europe.
🥇 🇺🇸 Brandon McNulty
🥈 🇦🇺 Michael Matthews
Brandon McNulty is the elite men's road race world champion. FIRST American to do it in 33 YEARS, since Lance Armstrong in 1993.
Fifth non-European gold in 93 editions of the Worlds road race: LeMond (2), Armstrong, Evans and McNulty. The first from outside Europe since Cadel Evans in 2009.
US world champions:
🇺🇸 1983: Greg LeMond
🇺🇸 1989: Greg LeMond
🇺🇸 1993: Lance Armstrong
🇺🇸 2026: BRANDON McNULTY
#GetThisChip - After their win at Wembley against England, Spain have become the first national team in FIFA Ranking history to surpass 2,000 points (2,002.34 as of now), since the current scoring system was introduced in June 2018.
ENG 2-3 ESP (FT)
In the last 2 years, Spain have faced world champions NINE times
Italy
Germany
France
England
France
Uruguay
France
Argentina
England
THEY WON ALL NINE
IT'S SURREAL
THE BEST NATIONAL TEAM ON THE PLANET
BY A MILE
#GetThisChip - Harry Kane is the first Spain opponent to hit the woodwork from the penalty spot since Enzo Scifo (also off the crossbar) at the 1990 World Cup.
ENG 2-1 ESP (HT) - England scored 2 goals (Gordon and a Cucurella own goal) in 3 minutes and 12 seconds.
Spain hadn't gone from winning to losing with 2 goals conceded this quickly since 01.12.2022, against Japan (2 Japanese goals in 2 minutes and 23 seconds).
On 18 February 1987, in Madrid, England went from 1-0 down to 1-2 up with 2 Lineker goals in 3 minutes and 52 seconds.