Spain are world champions again — but Sunday night's final will probably be remembered as much for what happened after the whistle as for the football itself.

The match

Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, sealing their second World Cup title after 2010. Ferran Torres settled a tense, goalless deadlock in the 106th minute, breaking through a match that had turned increasingly physical as it wore on.

Argentina spent extra time down to ten men. Midfielder Enzo Fernández picked up a second yellow card in the third minute of stoppage time for a hard foul, and was sent off. By full time, the match had produced 46 fouls in total — 25 of them from Argentina alone.

Lionel Messi, playing in what may be the final World Cup match of his career, was kept quiet all night by a disciplined Spanish midfield marshaled by Rodri. He watched the final whistle from the far side of the pitch, hands on his hips.

The result also extended Spain's unbeaten run to 38 matches in a row — the longest streak in the sport's history, overtaking Italy's previous record.

Then it turned into a brawl

The trouble started almost immediately after referee Slavko Vinčić blew full time.

As Spain's bench ran onto the pitch to celebrate, Argentina defender Nahuel Molina was seen slapping Spain midfielder Rodri on the arm. Within seconds, Argentina's Leandro Paredes charged at Spain defender Eric García, grabbing him by the throat and shoving him to the ground. Spain's Gavi — who hadn't even played in the final — got pulled into the confrontation with Paredes as well.

What followed was a wider scuffle involving players and coaching staff from both sides, including Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni, who was seen trying to physically separate his own players from Spain's. Paredes was shown a red card for his conduct after the final whistle.

Argentina's coaching staff have not offered a detailed public explanation for the scenes. Spain's players and manager largely let their trophy celebration speak for itself.

The bigger picture

None of this changes the result. Spain are champions, and their unbeaten streak is now the longest in football history. But for a tournament that also delivered the first-ever live World Cup final halftime show — headlined by Coldplay, Madonna, Shakira, BTS, Justin Bieber and Burna Boy, raising money for global children's education — the closing minutes were a reminder of how much was riding on this match for both sides.

For Argentina, it's a bitter end to a bid for back-to-back titles that would have put them alongside Brazil and Italy in World Cup history. For Spain, it's a second star on the badge — and a video of their opponents fighting instead of shaking hands that will follow this final around for a long time.