2026 World Cup: The Numbers Behind Spain's Triumph

East Rutherford – AFP – Spain’s crowning as world champions for the second time, following their first title 16 years ago in South Africa, was no empty feat; behind it lie statistics and figures highlighting the brilliance of its players, who deservedly defeated Argentina 1-0 after extra time on Sunday in New Jersey, near New York.

FIFA published these striking statistics across all positions, from goalkeeping to defense, midfield, and attack, as well as overall team performance.

Midfielder Rodri deservedly earned the title of best player of the tournament. The Spanish captain completed 790 successful passes, breaking his personal record for the most passes in World Cup history. The midfielder had previously recorded 638 successful passes at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, surpassing the previous record set by Xavi in South Africa in 2010 (599 passes).

Mikel Oyarzabal regained possession of the ball on 58 occasions, more than any other player in the tournament. The 29-year-old forward was followed by his Spanish national team teammate Pedri and Moroccan Nabil Fekir (both with 51 recoveries), while his teammate Dani Olmo applied defensive pressure most frequently (305 times).

With their victory at the New York-New Jersey venue, Spain became unbeaten in 38 consecutive matches, setting a new world record. Since their 1-0 defeat to Colombia in March 2024, Luis de la Fuente’s side has won 29 matches and drawn nine. The previous record was held by Italy, which went 37 matches without defeat between 2018 and 2021.

Lamine Yamal completed the most successful dribbles in this tournament (35). He was followed by Frenchman Kylian Mbappé (28), Argentine Lionel Messi (25), Brazilian Vinícius Júnior (23), and Belgian Jeremy Doku (21).

The late Argentine Diego Maradona holds the record for the most successful dribbles in a single tournament (53 in the 1986 Mexico edition), while his compatriot Lionel Messi holds the best record in the current century (46 dribbles in the 2014 Brazil finals).

At 19 years and six days old, Lamine Yamal became the fourth youngest player to win the title (jointly) in history. He is preceded only by Italian defender Giuseppe Bergomi (18 years old) and Brazilians Pelé and Ronaldo (both 17 years old).

Bergomi was nicknamed “Uncle” because, despite his young age, he had a thick mustache. Pau Cubarsí, at 19 years and 178 days old, ranked seventh on the list, edging out Frenchman Kylian Mbappé by one spot.

Spain scored 14 goals in this tournament, two more than their previous best in the competition, achieved under the inspiration of Emilio Butragueño in 1986, and four more than they scored in their 2010 title-winning campaign.

Spain carved their path to the title with seven consecutive victories. Only Brazil, with 11 consecutive wins spanning the 2002 and 2006 editions, achieved a longer winning streak than “La Roja” in the finals.

Unai Simón kept a clean sheet in seven of the eight matches, the highest number recorded in a single edition of the tournament.

The previous record was five matches, held by Dutchman Jan Jongbloed in 1974, Italian Walter Zenga in 1990, Brazilian Taffarel in 1994, Frenchman Fabien Barthez in 1998, German Oliver Kahn in 2002, Italian Gianluigi Buffon in 2006, and Spanish Iker Casillas in 2010.

Simón set a new record for the longest unbeaten run without conceding a goal in the tournament: 650 consecutive minutes, stretching from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where Spain were eliminated by Morocco on penalties in the round of 16, until his goalmouth was finally breached by Belgian forward Charles De Ketelaere in the quarter-finals.

The previous record was held by Zenga (517 minutes).

Mikel Oyarzabal scored five goals in this tournament, equaling the Spanish record for most goals in a single edition of the competition. Emilio Butragueño also scored five goals in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, and David Villa followed suit in the 2010 edition in South Africa.

Ferran Torres became the second substitute to score the winning goal in a World Cup final, after Germany’s Mario Götze against Argentina in 2014. In total, the Valencia-born player became the fifth player to come off the bench and score in a World Cup final, following Dutchman Dick Nanninga, Italian Alessandro Altobelli, and German Rudi Völler. Notably, four of them scored against Argentina.

Spain conceded just one goal, the fewest ever allowed by a tournament winner throughout their winning campaign, surpassing France in 1998, Italy in 2006, and their own tally of two goals in 2010.