Digital Sports Desk

Online Destination for the Best in Boston Sports

Kraft Being Krafty

by

FOXBOROUGH – (Wire Service Report) – New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the team offered Christian Gonzalez a contract extension that would make him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL.

Embed from Getty Images

Kraft did not reveal the specific terms of the deal on Saturday, the first day of training camp.

“We love Christian Gonzalez,” Kraft said during the team’s Pawtriots pet adoption event, per the Boston Herald. “We love him as a player, as a person. That’s why we’ve made an offer to him that makes him the highest-paid player ever to play that position in the NFL, and coincidentally, it’s the highest contract in the Patriots franchise history.

“So we’re glad we drafted him and we developed here, and we hope he’ll be with us for a long time.”

Gonzalez is eligible for a contract extension for the first time after being selected by the Patriots with the 17th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Kraft did not reveal the specific terms of the deal on Saturday, the first day of training camp.

“We love Christian Gonzalez,” Kraft said during the team’s Pawtriots pet adoption event, per the Boston Herald. “We love him as a player, as a person. That’s why we’ve made an offer to him that makes him the highest-paid player ever to play that position in the NFL, and coincidentally, it’s the highest contract in the Patriots franchise history.

“So we’re glad we drafted him and we developed here, and we hope he’ll be with us for a long time.”

Gonzalez is eligible for a contract extension for the first time after being selected by the Patriots with the 17th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.

The Los Angeles Rams’ Trent McDuffie is currently the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback, pocketing $31 million per season on his four-year, $131 million contract that he signed this offseason.

Gonzalez, 24, made the Pro Bowl last season after posting 69 tackles and 10 passes defensed in 14 starts. He has three interceptions, 24 passes defensed, one fumble recovery, one sack and 145 tackles in 34 career games (all starts).

–Field Level Media

The Streak is ONE

by

FENWAY – (Wire Service Report) – Romy Gonzalez’s pinch-hit RBI double sparked a two-run eighth inning, leading the Boston Red Sox to a 6-4 win over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night.

The shot into the left-field corner brought Jarren Duran home from first base with the go-ahead run before Anthony Seigler capped his 4-for-5 day with a wall-ball double to plate another off Toronto reliever CJ Van Eyk (0-1).

Embed from Getty Images

Seigler, who batted leadoff, scored two runs, drove in two more, hit a leadoff homer, and added two doubles while falling just a triple short of a cycle.

The Red Sox have won 16 of their last 17 games.

Garrett Whitlock (6-1) earned the victory in relief, and Aroldis Chapman recorded his 391st career save to take sole possession of ninth on the all-time list.

The Blue Jays clawed back from 4-0 down to tie the game. Starter Trey Yesavage struck out nine across four innings of three-run ball.

Kazuma Okamoto, who entered the night 0-for-22 since the All-Star break, went 2-for-5 with a three-run homer in the seventh. It was his 23rd, which moved him past Shohei Ohtani for the most by a Japanese rookie in a single MLB season.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Daulton Varsho also had multi-hit games for Toronto.

After Patrick Sandoval danced out of a bases-loaded jam in the first, Seigler immediately staked the Red Sox to a 1-0 lead by depositing Yesavage’s fourth pitch into the right-field stands.

The Toronto righty’s frustrating outing continued two innings later, as he fanned the side in the second before allowing another home run in the third. Seigler knocked an opposite-field single before crossing the plate on Ceddanne Rafaela’s two-run shot just over the top of the Green Monster.

Yesavage retired six of the final seven batters he faced to keep it 3-0, but the offense could not take advantage of back-to-back innings with two aboard. In the fifth, Guerrero singled and Okamoto doubled to put two Blue Jays in scoring position with one out, but Tyron Guerrero relieved Sandoval and escaped the threat.

The Red Sox added to their lead when Masataka Yoshida scored on Andruw Monasterio’s sacrifice fly in the sixth. It could have been more, but Toronto left fielder Nathan Lukes gunned out Caleb Durbin trying to score from second on Connor Wong’s single to end the inning.

In the seventh, Okamoto brought Toronto right back into the game with one big swing, taking Greg Weissert deep to center field for a three-run shot. Ernie Clement (hit by pitch) and Guerrero (single) set the table.

After Jeff Hoffman’s bases-loaded escape in the seventh, the Blue Jays manufactured the tying run off Whitlock — the first he allowed in 13 appearances — in the eighth. Lukes hit a leadoff double to left and Varsho dunked a single into right, setting up pinch hitter Andres Gimenez’s sacrifice fly.

–Field Level Media

Tony Romo Arrested

by

MILWAUKEE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and current CBS NFL analyst Tony Romo was arrested in Milwaukee Thursday night on suspicion of operating a vehicle while under the influence, according to a Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.

Embed from Getty Images

The 46-year-old was stopped Thursday around 6:18 p.m. and “performed poorly” on standardized field sobriety tests, per the report.

He was taken into custody and booked before being released at approximately 11 p.m., and has a court date scheduled for Sept. 21.

A first-offense OWI is generally a civil offense, not a criminal charge, in Wisconsin, with a citation typically carrying a fine between $150-$300.

The police stop occurred while Romo was traveling southbound on Interstate 43.

Romo is a native of nearby Burlington, Wis., where he was the first Burlington High School student-athlete to be named all-state in three sports: football, basketball, and golf. His high school football team, the Burlington Demons, plays on a field that was named Tony Romo Field in 2020.

Romo has been the lead NFL game analyst at CBS since 2017, paired with Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson to cover games.

Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2003 out of Eastern Illinois, Romo spent the next 14 seasons with the Cowboys. He became their starting quarterback in 2006 and led Dallas to five playoff appearances.

A four-time Pro Bowler, he holds a 78-49 record in 156 regular-season games (127 starts). He had a career 65.3% completion rate, amassing 34,183 yards with 248 touchdowns and 117 interceptions.

–Field Level Media

Streak Snapped; Time to Start Over

by

BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – The saying goes, “All good things must come to an end.”

For the Boston Red Sox, that meant the end of a franchise-record-tying 15-game winning streak. The quest for a new streak begins on Friday night as the Toronto Blue Jays enter for the start of a three-game weekend series.

Embed from Getty Images

“All of us knew that it was going to end at some point. It just happened to end (on Wednesday),” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said after a 5-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in the second game of a doubleheader. “The big thing is if we continue to play baseball that way, regardless of how many wins in a row, we’re going to win a heck of a lot more than we lose.”

To say the least, it was a season-turning stretch for Tracy’s group, which went from 37-48 then to 52-49 now. Before Wednesday night, the Red Sox had not lost since July 1, and they were 20-2 since completing a four-game sweep of the archrival New York Yankees on June 28.

Before Tracy could even speak to his team at the end of the streak, veterans Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray took the lead in addressing the clubhouse, imparting a message that matched that of their skipper.

“We can beat anybody. That’s lesson No. 1,” Contreras said. “We are a good team in the battles. We are resilient and a team that sits together, winning or losing. … There’s nothing to be sad about. We have to be happy. We should be proud of what we did.”

The past few weeks have seen Contreras break out to the tune of a .381 average with 13 RBIs in 12 July games. The first baseman had three hits in the Wednesday twin bill, with the nightcap being Boston’s first game scoring fewer than two runs since June 30.

The Red Sox will give the ball on Friday to left-hander Patrick Sandoval, who remains in search of his first win in his third start since returning from a two-year absence following Tommy John surgery. Sandoval (0-0, 4.82 ERA) was touched for five runs, four earned, on nine hits in five innings against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday.

Sandoval has faced the Blue Jays twice in his career, posting a 6.00 ERA and no decisions in nine innings.

The red-hot run has the Red Sox sitting in third place in the American League East, now six games ahead of the bottom-dwelling Blue Jays.

Toronto arrives in Boston having broken a four-game skid with a 3-1 Thursday afternoon win over first-place Tampa Bay. It was just the second victory for the Blue Jays in a nine-game span.

Shane Bieber dealt seven innings of one-run ball in his second consecutive strong start, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer both had two hits and an RBI.

“Today we played a complete game,” Springer said. “We pitched. We got guys on (the bases), over and in, and we caught the ball, so it was a good day for us, but it’s on to (Friday), and that’s against another extremely good team.”

Trey Yesavage (4-5, 3.78 ERA) will look to keep the Blue Jays on the right track. The 22-year-old right-hander took a loss to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday despite logging a season-high nine strikeouts over six innings of three-run ball.

Yesavage, who made his major league debut last September, has gotten his first taste of the Red Sox this season. He is 1-0 with a 2.13 ERA in two head-to-head starts, recording a home win on April 28 with 5 1/3 shutout innings before working 7 1/3 innings of three-run ball in a June 18 no-decision at Boston.

–Field Level Media

 

PGA Tour: 3M Open Awaits Low Scores

by

BLAINE, (Minn) – Defending champion Kurt Kitayama is making his third appearance at 3M Open (T6/2024, Won/2025). He claimed his second PGA TOUR title with victory at 2025 3M Open, highlighted by a career-low 60 in the third round. Last year, he entered the week at No. 110 in the FedEx Cup and became the third consecutive 3M Open winner to begin the week outside the Top 70 in the FedEx Cup (Jhonattan Vegas/No. 147/2024; Lee Hodges/No. 74/2023) and leave in the playoffs.

He is a cumulative 36-under in eight rounds at TPC Twin Cities (66-69-70-66-65-71-60-65). Kitayama is coming off a T40 finish at The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

3M Open notes:

  • TPC Twin Cities was designed by World Golf Hall of Fame member Arnold Palmer, who worked in consultation with Minnesota native and PGA TOUR veteran Tom Lehman.
  • It’s one of 10 TPC venues on 2026 PGA TOUR schedule: TPC Scottsdale, TPC Sawgrass (Stadium), TPC San Antonio (Oaks), TPC Louisiana, TPC Craig Ranch, TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley (North), TPC River Highlands, TPC Deere Run, TPC Twin Cities, TPC Southwind.
  • Eight players in the field have competed in all seven previous editions of the 3M Open: Cam Davis, Tony Finau, Brice Garnett, Tom Hoge, Beau Hossler, Patton Kizzire, Peter Malnati, and Troy Merritt.
  • Four past champions of the 3M Open in the field: Cameron Champ (2021), Tony Finau (2022), Lee Hodges (2023), Kurt Kitayama (2025).
  • Three FedExCup champions in the field: Scottie Scheffler (2024), Billy Horschel (2014), Brandt Snedeker (2012).
  • Three players in the field at the 3M Open finished in the Top-10 at last week’s Open Championship: Scottie Scheffler (T4), Casey Jarvis (T6), Rasmus Neergard-Petersen (T9) .

The 3M Open | Tournament Facts

COURSE: TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota

YARDS/PAR: 7,431 yards/Par 71

ARCHITECT: Arnold Palmer

PRIZE Money – Purse: $8,800,000/$1,584,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Kurt Kitayama

TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW: (link)

OFFICIAL SITE: (3M)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 500

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @3MOpen #GolfThatMatters

Red Sox Caught Streaking

by

FENWAY (Wire Service Report) – A four-run first inning helped the visiting Baltimore Orioles earn a 5-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox in the second game of a doubleheader Wednesday, ending Boston’s 15-game winning streak.

The winning streak was the longest in the majors since St. Louis won 17 in a row in 2021. Had Boston won, the Red Sox would have set a franchise record for consecutive victories. They tied the 1946 club’s record of 15 straight with a 6-3 win in Game 1. Boston had not lost since a 10-2 setback against the Washington Nationals on July 1.

Embed from Getty Images

Kyle Bradish (7-9) pitched six innings to earn the win. He held the Red Sox to one run on four hits, struck out four and walked one. Yennier Cano, Andrew Kittredge and Tyler Wells each tossed a scoreless inning of relief for the Orioles, who won despite going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. The Red Sox were limited to five hits.

Boston starter Eduardo Rivera (0-1) was pulled with two outs in the first inning. He gave up four runs on three hits and walked two. Brayan Bello replaced Rivera and struck out five in 5 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Red Sox 6, Orioles 3 (Game 1)

Ceddanne Rafaela homered, Jarren Duran drove in three runs and Boston tied a franchise record for consecutive victories with 15 by beating visiting Baltimore in the first game of a split doubleheader.

Boston starter Jake Bennett (6-3) pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits. Aroldis Chapman tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 23rd save of 2026 and 390th overall, tying him for ninth on the all-time list with former Red Sox pitcher Dennis Eckersley.

Dean Kremer (1-3) gave up six runs on eight hits in six innings. Rafaela, Caleb Durbin and Willson Contreras each collected two hits for the Red Sox, who never trailed.

 

 

Sox Tie Club Record of 15 Straight Wins

by

FENWAY – (Wire Service Report) – Ceddanne Rafaela homered, Jarren Duran drove in three runs and the Boston Red Sox tied a franchise record for consecutive victories with 15 by beating the visiting Baltimore Orioles 6-3 in the first game of a split doubleheader Wednesday.

The Red Sox, who also won 15 straight during the 1946 season, haven’t lost since a 10-2 home setback against the Washington Nationals on July 1.

Boston starter Jake Bennett (6-3) pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits and struck out five. Aroldis Chapman tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 23rd save of 2026 and 390th overall, tying him for ninth on the all-time list with former Red Sox pitcher Dennis Eckersley.

Dean Kremer (1-3) gave up six runs on eight hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked one.

Rafaela, Caleb Durbin and Willson Contreras each collected two hits for the Red Sox, who never trailed.

The Red Sox, who also won 15 straight during the 1946 season, haven’t lost since a 10-2 home setback against the Washington Nationals on July 1.

Boston starter Jake Bennett (6-3) pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits and struck out five. Aroldis Chapman tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 23rd save of 2026 and 390th overall, tying him for ninth on the all-time list with former Red Sox pitcher Dennis Eckersley.

Dean Kremer (1-3) gave up six runs on eight hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked one.

Rafaela, Caleb Durbin and Willson Contreras each collected two hits for the Red Sox, who never trailed.

Baltimore received a solo home run from Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who had three hits and two RBIs.

Durbin’s two-run single and a two-run triple from Duran handed Boston a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

Baltimore made it 4-1 in the third, when Pete Alonso doubled and scored on Tyler O’Neill’s two-out double that Rafaela lost in the sun.

The Red Sox regained a four-run lead in the bottom of the third. Durbin scored on Duran’s sacrifice fly to make it a 5-1 contest.

Encarnacion-Strand’s home run came against Bennett in the fourth and cut Boston’s lead to 5-2. It was his second home run in as many games since being called up from Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday.

Rafaela’s home run, his ninth of the season, extended Boston’s edge to 6-2 in the bottom of the fourth, but Encarnacion-Strand’s third hit of the game was an RBI single that drove in Coby Mayo and trimmed Boston’s advantage to 6-3 in the sixth.

–Field Level Media

14-Carat Gold for Red Sox

by

By TERRY LYONS

FENWAY – The red hot Boston Red Sox defeated the orange hot Baltimore Orioles, 6-5, in a sloppy but exciting game before a sell-out crowd of 37,659 crazy fans (about 5,000 from the Charm City) on an absolutely gorgeous night at Fenway Park.

Boston came into the game, winners of a lucky 13 straight games. Baltimore travelled to Boston from Houston where they swept the Astros and had a season-high seven game winning streak of their own.

Something had to give.

Embed from Getty Images

A partial final line score might tell the story as Baltimore scored five runs on 11 hits but committed four errors and left eight runners on base. Meanwhile, the Red Sox scored six runs on 10 hits, but committed no errors and left only four on base. The game was sloppy and it see-sawed back and forth all night long.

Baltimore went up 1-0 in the top of the first.

The Sox tied it at 1-1 with a Jarren Duran sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Willson Contreras who had a lead-off single.

Boston went up, 3-1, in the third, after Baltimore committed two errors and Ceddanne Rafaela scored on a Wilyer Abreu double to left.

Baltimore cut the lead to 3-2 in the fifth with an unlikely Christian Encarnation-Strand home run. For a .200 hitter, (we’ll call him Smith) has recorded two home runs and recorded multiple hits in two of his last five major league games. Tonight, the Orioles third baseman as=went 2-for-3, with a run scored, a homer and two RBI. Not bad for a guy who was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk last Thursday.

The Orioles took the baton and scored two runs in the top of the sixth, cracking four hits with Jeremiah Jackson and (Smith) providing the RBI singles which knocked Boston starter Payton Tolle out of the game after 5.2 IP, giving up eight hits and four runs while walking one and striking out nine Orioles. Back and forth it was, and Boston tied it at four-all in the bottom of the sixth. It went to 5-5 at the end of the seventh inning.

Ping pong, see-saw, back-and-forth – call it what you want.

The game changer was in the bottom of the eighth inning with Baltimore reliever Tyler Wells on the mound.

Wells struck out the first two batters he faced, sending hot hitting Willson Contreras and DH Masataka Yoshida packing.

Batter-up for Caleb Durbin, the guy who soaked in some coaching from his Waltham, Mass batting advisor and has hit safely in 30 of 43 games, coming into tonight. Durbin also stroked a .305 batting average since his advisor struck gold back on May 28th. His 19 extra base hits and 14 multi-hit games add to his magical turn-around mid-season, But, when Durbin walked to the plate in the bottom of the eighth, he was O’s-for-3 with two fly-outs to right and a ground-out to short.

Call it hitting safely in 31 of 44 games as Durbin took a 1-0, 90 mph cutter and parked it over the famed Green Monster and across to Landsdowne Street which abuts the left field wall. It was Durbin’s 10th home run of the season and it gave Boston a 6-5 lead with ace closer Aroldis Chapman entering the game from his right field bullpen briar patch. Chapman, the American League’s all-star closer last week in Philadelphia, took the mound with 21 saves under his belt and the title of Major League Baseball’s all-time strikeout leader among relievers (1,367).

The drama unfolded, of course, as every game at Fenway Park seems to create a high stress level, even thought the Red Sox have been winning and were coming off a four game sweep of the AL East division leading Tampa Bay Rays.

Here’s the way it went down:

Chapman walked the lead-off hitter, pinch hitter Colton Cowser. With a man on first, Chapman – facing the top of the order – proceeded to strike-out Baltimore’s Taylor Ward and slugger Pete Alonso.

Orioles shortstop, Gunnar Henderson, was next and he doubled to left, but Cowser could only advance as far as third base.

Second and third, two men out, Chapman pitching to right fielder Tyler O’Neill.

Who will be the star of the game?

Durbin?

Chapman?

Or, O’Neill?

Embed from Getty Images

How about the least likely player to earn that game-winning star honor, Boston shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng who moved quickly to his right and grabbed a rocket line-drive off O’Neill’s bat to end the game on what would’ve surely been a two-run single, a 7-6 lead, and a blown save for Chapman.

Instead, Chapman earned his 22nd save of the season, Garrett Whitlock was credited with the win for his one inning of shut-out pitching in the eighth.

Baltimore’s Wells took the tough loss.

The Orioles’ winning streak ended at seven, while Boston’s incredible turn-around and winning streak continue to the tune of 14 wins in a row, dating back to July 3rd. In their last 21 games, Boston is 19-2. They’re a major league best of 22-5 (.815) in their last 27 games, dating back to June 19th.

Boston is now 51-48 (.515) and trail the division-leading Rays by only six games. On July 2, Boston was 37-48, 14.5 games back of Tampa and mired in last place in the division.  They’ve swept the LA Angels, the Chicago White Sox, the lowly New York Mets and four important games from Tampa. While July 20 is far to early to be scoreboard watching, the Red Sox are one game away from tying the franchise record of a 15-game winning streak (April 25-May 10, 1946).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Orioles in Town to Test Hot Sox

by

FENWAY – (Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox started their 13-game win streak on the road before the MLB All-Star break, but home cooking has helped to fuel it.

After completing a four-game sweep of the American League East-leading Tampa Bay Rays, the Red Sox look to keep the good times rolling when they welcome the Baltimore Orioles — who have won seven in a row themselves — into Boston for the start of a three-game series on Monday night.

Embed from Getty Images

“I feel like we’ve flipped the script,” Boston third baseman Caleb Durbin said.

The current heater has Boston two games above the .500 mark for the first time since a win on Opening Day. Now the team is two games short of the club record of 15 straight set in 1946.

“You’re winning games against clubs that have a chance to be in the playoffs. That’s important,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said. “It’s important that we’re playing this way out of the All-Star break. It’s important that we’re doing it at home. All those things matter.”

Another thing that matters? The return of Willson Contreras.

Contreras’ two-run homer in the fifth inning on Sunday gave the Red Sox a 6-1 lead, which proved to be the final score, in support of another quality start from Sonny Gray. It was the first baseman’s second round-tripper in three games since returning from a suspension and his fourth in seven games since July 4.

The Red Sox hand the ball to Payton Tolle (5-6, 3.11 ERA) for his first start since the All-Star break after being limited to 3 2/3 innings last Sunday against the New York Mets in an effort to manage his workload. The 23-year-old was still effective, striking out seven and allowing just one run on three hits in 3 2/3 innings.

Another thing that matters? The return of Willson Contreras.

Contreras’ two-run homer in the fifth inning on Sunday gave the Red Sox a 6-1 lead, which proved to be the final score, in support of another quality start from Sonny Gray. It was the first baseman’s second round-tripper in three games since returning from a suspension and his fourth in seven games since July 4.

The Red Sox hand the ball to Payton Tolle (5-6, 3.11 ERA) for his first start since the All-Star break after being limited to 3 2/3 innings last Sunday against the New York Mets in an effort to manage his workload. The 23-year-old was still effective, striking out seven and allowing just one run on three hits in 3 2/3 innings.

Tolle has allowed just one run or fewer in three of his last four starts, while one of his three shutout performances this season came in his first career start against Baltimore on June 3, as he limited the Orioles to seven hits over six innings and struck out five.

Though the Orioles remain two games below .500 (49-51) on the season, they continued their winning ways with a 5-2 Sunday triumph and a three-game road sweep over the Houston Astros.

Baltimore managed just six hits, including a pair from Dylan Beavers, but seven walks and four hit batters helped set its offense in motion. Gunnar Henderson’s steal of home on a double steal also highlighted the effort.

“(Our offense just wants to) continue to put pressure on defenses,” Henderson said. “If you do that over the course of nine innings, you’re bound to break through.”

The Orioles did just that in the fifth, thanks to a two-run single by Leody Taveras.

As his team arrives in Boston, Orioles manager Craig Albernaz will be watching the status of catcher Samuel Basallo, who exited Sunday’s game with right shoulder discomfort during an at-bat in the second inning.

“It’s been a lingering thing, and obviously, he just aggravated it,” said Albernaz, who also noted that All-Star Adley Rutschman was experiencing left discomfort before the game.

Baltimore looks to continue its recent momentum with Shane Baz (4-9, 4.19) on the mound, searching for his first win since June 12. The righty has fanned nine batters in two of his five outings since then, including a 4 2/3-inning start last Sunday against the Kansas City Royals.

The rotation initially had Kyle Bradish scheduled to make the Monday start before he was pushed back a day. Bradish signed a five-year contract extension on Saturday, becoming the highest-paid pitcher in Orioles history.

Baz is 4-1 with a 2.63 ERA in six career starts against the Red Sox. He was a winner in Boston in that June 2 outing, pitching seven innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts.

–Field Level Media

It’s All About Spain

by

EAST RUTHERFORD – (Wire Service Report) – Ferran Torres believed it was Spain’s destiny to win this World Cup. And he struck his decisive finish like a man certain of his convictions.

Torres powered home an emphatic half-volley from nine yards out in the 106th minute to lift Spain to their second World Cup title with a 1-0 win over gutsy, 10-man Argentina in Sunday’s final.

Embed from Getty Images

“I think that in the end, the goal belonged to 47 million people, not to me or the 26 players here,” Torres said via an interpreter. “I believe that today destiny was written. It was meant for us to win, far from our fans, but we tried to make them feel as close as possible.”

Torres’ deserved decider came 16 years and eight days after Andres Iniesta also scored in extra time to lift the Spaniards to their first World Cup with a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands.

The winning goal came on La Roja’s 20th shot of the contest against the defending champions, who failed to manage any to that point and struggled to wrest possession away from their superior Iberian opponents.

That was true at even strength and became more difficult when the Albiceleste’s numbers were reduced when Enzo Fernandez’s late challenge of Pau Cubarsi left referee Slavko Vincic no choice but to produce a second caution just before the end of normal time.

Spain remain the only nation ever to win the European Championship and World Cup in successive tournaments, having now done so a second time after their Euro 2024 title. They are also the first World Cup champion ever to concede only once across an entire tournament. And they are the first winner of the UEFA Nations League to capture a world title, having triumphed at the eight-year-old competition in 2023.

“We’ve won everything, everything,” Spain manager Luis de la Fuente said through an interpreter. “And that’s wonderful, with a generation of footballers, I’ll say it again and again, who are an example for Spanish  sport, for Spanish youth, for Spain. Together we are stronger, let there be no doubt about that.”

Lionel Messi’s Argentina failed to earn another title after winning their last three major tournaments, having also captured the 2021 and 2024 Copa Americas on either side of their 2022 World Cup triumph.

The 39-year-old, eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi finished the competition with eight goals and four assists, but had little time on the ball until Spain finally took the lead. Even in some nervy late moments for Spain, he never seriously looked like lifting his side to another great moment as he has so many times in the last two World Cup cycles.

“Well, in the end, all finals are difficult, and when you have Messi on the opposing team, you always get nervous,” Torres said. “But ultimately, we’ve always depended on ourselves, on playing our style of football, and I think we demonstrated that once again today.”

Spanish midfielder Rodri won the FIFA Golden Ball for his efforts throughout the tournament, including his help in containing Messi Sunday, despite not tallying a single goal or assist himself.

Emi Martinez made 11 saves for the Albiceleste, who fell short in their bid to be the first consecutive World Cup champions since Brazil won the 1958 and 1962 titles.

“Yes, I think the game should have been decided much earlier,” de la Fuente said. “Dibu’s great saves prevented us from winning the game sooner. We could have taken a more comfortable lead. But this is a world championship final, and even with 10 men, you have to suffer at the end. But since we like to suffer, we’ve shown once again that we’re ready for anything.”

What had felt so difficult for the first 105 minutes suddenly looked easy after 37 seconds of play in the second period of extra time.

Pedro Porro curled in an outswinging cross from the left to the back post. Nico Williams won the header and nodded it back into space, and Torres hammered a half-volley at last past the flailing Martinez. It was his only goal of the tournament, making him the seventh player to score during a tournament in which his side never trailed.

An Argentina side that literally hadn’t managed a shot somehow found its way forward in the dying stages.

Messi curled a speculative effort just over the top left corner of Unai Simon’s goal, and after consecutive corners, Giuliano Simeone fired high from just beyond the top of the six-yard box. But for once this tournament, there was no miracle late drama in the Albiceleste’s favor.

Simon, who took home the Golden Glove award, notched his seventh clean sheet in eight matches this tournament and has nine clean sheets in his World Cup career, one away from tying the all-time mark.

–Field Level Media