Argentina player ratings vs Spain: No fairy tale this time! Lionel Messi goes missing in World Cup final as Albiceleste pay for Enzo Fernandez's foolish red card

As time ticked on and the shadows continued to envelop the pitch in New Jersey, Argentina kept waiting. Surely, the moment would arrive, right? It always does? For the last two World Cups, there was always a Lionel Messi moment of magic, and it always seemed to arrive when Argentina needed it most.

And so they waited and waited and waited, but it never came. Instead, it was Spain who capitalised on their moment, securing a 1-0 win over an Argentina team that never quite rediscovered the spark that has so often carried them over the line

After producing zero shots through the first 106 minutes, Argentina finally had to pick one out of the back of their own net. It came from the foot of Ferran Torres, who latched onto Nico Williams' knock-down to smash home a World Cup-winner, ensuring that Messi and co. would leave North America empty-handed.