Nairobi, July 22 -- On Sunday evening, in a stadium in New Jersey, a substitute named Ferran Torres struck the only goal of the 2026 World Cup final. Spain 1, Argentina 0. The 106th minute.

The defending champions, dethroned. The score tells you almost nothing. The details tell you everything.

Argentina did not manage a single shot on goal in 90 minutes. Their goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, made 11 saves, a record for a World Cup final; another way of saying his teammates abandoned him to the storm.

They played it rough, lost Enzo Fernandez to a second yellow, and still they lost. But the final was only the last chapter. The muttering had followed Argentina through the whole tournament. Egypt in the Round of 16, where the beaten side l...