The best thing about Spain winning the World Cup was that it finally put an end to the conspiracy theories.

For a month, social media had convinced itself that FIFA was determined to deliver Lionel Messi one last fairytale – something even Donald Trump joked about on the eve of the final. Spain’s victory, by completely outlasting the previous holders, settled that argument.

Then came the final whistle. A mass confrontation. Tempers spilling over. Players being kicked and pushed, Argentina churlishly turning their backs on the trophy presentation. More headlines about what happened after the game than what happened during it.

It was, in many ways, the perfect ending to a World Cup that rarely allowed football to be the main character.

Every tournament has its defining image. Maradona lifting the trophy in 1986. Ronaldo’s redemption in 2002. Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt in 2006. Iniesta in Johannesburg. Germany’s demolition of Brazil. Messi in Doha.

What will 2026 be remembered for?

Spain’s triumph will feature somewhere in the conversation. But so will refereeing controversies, mass confrontations, cynical football, bloated expansion, a four-quarter, made-for-television experiment and an uncomfortable feeling that, for the first time, football’s soul was fighting for space inside its own World Cup.

The referees became bigger stars than many players. Almost every knockout round ended with fresh outrage. VAR decisions were dissected........

© Indian Express