Spain wins the World Cup, Trump goes into ‘extra time’ with trophy

Spain have defeated Argentina with an extra time goal to win the World Cup in New Jersey, USA.

In one of the most one-sided finals in World Cup history, Argentina was unable to get a shot on target during the entire 120 minutes.

Argentina’s only two attempts on goal came in the second period of extra time after Spain went ahead 1-0 in the 106th minute.

It would have been daylight robbery if Argentina had pinched the trophy, but Ferran Torres scored the winning goal with a crisp half volley inside the box after more than 20 attempts on goal.

Spain is now the first country in World Cup history to hold the men’s and women’s World Cup trophies at the same time.

US President Donald Trump watched the game from inside MetLife Stadium along with 83,000 spectators.

A galaxy of A-list stars performed during the closing ceremony and the controversial* half time show.

Spain captain and player of the tournament Rodrigo Hernández Cascante (Rodri) lifted the World Cup trophy in one special moment. Another came when Donald Trump just couldn’t resist making his way into the centre of the celebrations.

After Trump handed over the World Cup trophy with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the US President then stood by the Spanish players during the team’s trophy lift, ignoring the efforts of Infantino to usher him away.

Infantino tugged at the arm of the US President to direct him offstage but Trump wouldn’t budge.

The Spanish players were unfazed*, with some sharing a wry* smile, but Trump’s decision to lean into his signature style has made almost as many headlines as the final itself.

Lionel Messi broke down in tears after receiving his runners up medal after falling narrowly short of going back-to-back in what was almost certainly his final World Cup. Tears fell down Messi’s cheeks as he was cheered by Argentinian fans.

It is Spain’s second World Cup win and they are deserving champions. They conceded just a single goal all tournament, the least goals conceded by any World Cup champion in history. They are also the reigning European men’s champions.

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

• Player of the tournament: Rodri (Spain)
• Golden Ball (most goals): Kylian Mbappe (France)
• Golden glove (most clean sheets): Unai Simon (Spain)
• Best young player: Pau Cubarsi (Spain)

WATCH THE VIDEO

POLL

GLOSSARY

• controversial: causing disagreement or discussion
• unfazed: not bothered, unsurprised, unmoved
• wry: showing that you find an awkward, bad or difficult situation slightly funny

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QUICK QUIZ

1. Which team won the FIFA World Cup?
2. Who did they play in the final?
3. What was the final score?
4. Who scored the winning goal and at what point of the game?
5. Which legendary player became emotional and why?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. World Cup poster
Design a World Cup Championship poster celebrating Spain’s victory. Include the following details in your poster;

• Score
• Winning player
• Country flag
• Interesting facts
• Picture of the trophy

Share your poster with the class.

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Visual Arts, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
How should winners celebrate? Do you think Spain were respectful in their win?

How should runners-up respond?

Why is respect important after competition?

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity 
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Exercise the body and the mind
Exercise is not only important for the body, but it’s a lot of fun as well. Let’s bring more exercise into classroom learning by creating a VCOP PE game.

You can add a VCOP challenge to pretty much any game, and it’s a great way to encourage the teacher to let the class play more games.

Here is an example to get you started, then you create one of your own.

VCOP dodgeball
The normal rules of dodgeball apply. Two teams throw soft balls at each other and if you get hit, you have to sit out. The team who knocks out all the players on the other team, wins.

VCOP challenge: when you get eliminated, collect a mini-whiteboard and a basic clause from the sidelines. Up-level the sentence (make it better) by adding VCOP. When you show the teacher your completed sentence, you can return to the game.

Play for a set amount of time and the team with the most players left on the court wins.

Support: use the “Up-Level It” card set – players have to complete one card from the set instead of completing all VCOP challenges.

What can you come up with?