The Barcelona forward struck in the 106th minute, firing home from close range after Nico Williams headed the ball into his path. His goal ended Argentina's resistance and sealed Spain's second World Cup title after a dominant display.

Spain, who arrived at the tournament as reigning European champions, controlled much of the final but were repeatedly denied by Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who produced a series of outstanding saves to keep his side in the contest.

Torres dedicated the victory to the Spanish people after delivering the decisive moment.

"I think in the end the goal came from 47 million people, not just those of us that are here," Torres said.

"Today destiny was written. It was made for us to win. We're far from our people today but we tried to be as close as possible to them.

"Finals are hard. When you have Lionel Messi on the opposing team, you do get worried, but we always backed ourselves and tried to show our football. I think we managed to do it once again."

Argentina's task became even tougher just before extra time when Enzo Fernandez was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a challenge on Pau Cubarsi.

Despite having an extra player, Spain still had to remain patient before finally finding the breakthrough against a determined Argentine defence.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente felt his team deserved to settle the contest much earlier.

"The match should have been decided much earlier," De la Fuente said. "But this is a World Cup final and you have to dig deep even against ten men, and we're prepared for anything.

"We had a game plan where the first idea was to keep Messi at bay but also other players away from our goal. Something very important was the attitude of our players. We were convinced it was our final and we wanted to go all out for this final. If it wasn't for their keeper we might've had a larger win."

The victory caps another remarkable achievement for Spanish football, with the men's team adding the World Cup to their European Championship success and joining the women's national team as reigning world champions.

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