10 defining moments of World Cup 2026: Spain’s second crown and a tournament of stories

The 2026 World Cup across Canada, Mexico, and the United States ended with Spain lifting the trophy for only the second time in their history. Luis de la Fuente’s side repeated the 2010 triumph – again decided by a single goal in extra time. But the tournament’s real legacy lies in the moments that shook the planet. It began with a shock. Debutants Cape Verde held Spain to a draw in their opening match. Goalkeeper Vozinha, 40, made seven saves and became an overnight sensation – his Instagram jumped to 17 million followers in days and now sits at nearly 30 million. A biologist even named a new mollusk species after him. Lionel Messi broke Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup scoring record with his 17th and 18th goals in a 2-0 win over Austria. But Kylian Mbappé finished the tournament with 22, overtaking both Klose and Messi – one more than the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner. Germany finally escaped the group stage after two consecutive exits, only to be undone by South American opponents again. After a group loss to Ecuador, they fell to Paraguay on penalties in the round of 32. Kai Havertz, Nick Woltemade and Jonathan Tah all missed from the spot, costing Julian Nagelsmann his job. Cape Verde refused to fade. They reached the knockout stage and took on defending champions Argentina. Sidny Lopes Cabral’s stunning extra-time equalizer was a goal-of-the-tournament contender, but the Albiceleste edged through. Argentina themselves faced a crisis. In the round of 16, they trailed Egypt 2-0 at halftime – a first since 2010 – and Messi missed another penalty. But a 79th-minute goal sparked hope, and Enzo Fernández smashed home the 3000th goal in World Cup history deep into stoppage time to complete a remarkable comeback. Portugal eliminated Croatia, likely ending Luka Modrić’s World Cup journey. But the Portuguese fell to eventual champions Spain in the next round. Cristiano Ronaldo finally scored his first knockout-stage World Cup goal, yet the tournament felt like a farewell for him, Mohamed Salah and Neymar – all three may have played their last World Cup matches.