Tuesday, July 21, 2026

"Al Jazeera" - Sports:

After the Spanish national team won the 2026 World Cup the day before yesterday, FIFA's website highlighted the standout numbers for: Pau Cubarsí, Marc Cucurella, Mikel Oyarzabal, Rodri, Unai Simón, Ferran Torres, and Lamine Yamal. The statistical report is as follows:

790

Rodri completed an impressive 790 successful passes, breaking his own personal record for the most passes completed in FIFA World Cup history. The midfielder had made 638 successful passes in the 2022 Qatar tournament, surpassing the previous record set by Xavi in South Africa 2010 (599 passes). His closest pursuers in North America were Pau Cubarsí (668 passes) and Aymeric Laporte (618 passes).

750

Spain's defenders Marc Cucurella and Pau Cubarsí each played 750 minutes, tying with Argentina midfielder Alexis Mac Allister for the most playing time.

Mikel Oyarzabal won back possession 58 times, more than any other player in the tournament. The 29-year-old forward was followed by his Spain teammate Pedri and Morocco's Nail El Aynaoui (51 each), while Dani Olmo made the most defensive pressures (305).

With Spain's victory at the New York New Jersey Stadium, La Roja extended its unbeaten run to 38 consecutive matches, a new world record. Since a 1-0 loss to Colombia in March 2024, Spain has won 29 matches and drawn nine. The previous record was held by Italy with 37 unbeaten matches from 2018 to 2021.

Lamine Yamal completed the most successful dribbles in the tournament (35), followed by France's Kylian Mbappé (28), Argentina's Lionel Messi (25), Brazil's Vinícius Júnior (23), and Belgium's Jérémy Doku (21). Diego Maradona holds the record for the most successful dribbles in a single edition (53 in Mexico 1986), while Messi has the best in the current century (46 in Brazil 2014).

Lamine Yamal, at 19 years and six days old, became the fourth youngest player to win the tournament (tied). He is preceded only by Italian defender Giuseppe Bergomi (18 years old) and Brazilians Pelé and Ronaldo (both 17 years old). Bergomi was nicknamed 'The Uncle' because, despite his young age, he had a thick mustache! Pau Cubarsí, at 19 years and 178 days, ranked seventh, one spot ahead of Kylian Mbappé.

Spain scored 14 goals in this edition, two more than its previous best tournament tally set by Emilio Butragueño in 1986, and four more than its winning campaign in 2010.

Spain secured the title with seven consecutive victories; only Brazil, with 11 straight wins from 2002 to 2006, has a longer winning streak.

Unai Simón kept clean sheets in seven of eight matches, the highest number in a single edition. The previous record of five was shared by Netherlands' Jan Jongbloed (1974), Italy's Walter Zenga (1990), Brazil's Taffarel (1994), France's Fabien Barthez (1998), Germany's Oliver Kahn (2002), Italy's Gianluigi Buffon (2006), and Spain's Iker Casillas (2010). Simón, who also did not concede in his last appearance in Qatar 2022, set a new record for consecutive minutes without conceding in the tournament: 650 minutes until he finally let in a goal from Belgium's Charles De Ketelaere in the quarterfinal. The previous record was held by Italy's Walter Zenga with 517 minutes.

Mikel Oyarzabal scored five goals in this tournament, equaling the Spanish record for a single edition. Butragueño had scored five goals in Mexico 1986, and David Villa matched that in South Africa 2010.

Ferran Torres became the second substitute to score the winning goal in a final, after Mario Götze for Germany in 2014. Overall, the Valencia native was the fifth player to come off the bench and score in a final, following Netherlands' Dick Nanninga, Italy's Alessandro Altobelli, and Germany's Rudi Völler. Remarkably, four of them scored against Argentina.

Spain conceded only one goal, the fewest ever by a champion in the biggest football tournament. France in 1998, Italy in 2006, and Spain itself in 2010 conceded two goals.