Just when it felt like it World Cup Final finally burst into life, chaos struck him. Spain thought they had their moment of glory, but only to be robbed of a few seconds. Nico Williams scored in extra time against Argentina, seemingly ending a long and tense stalemate. The celebrations began, the bench was struck, but the whistle had already gone out.
The sin that changed everything
Referee Slavko Vinčić had noticed something important in the preparation, and it had nothing to do with the finish. Shortly before the ball reached Williams, Mikel Merino was adjudged to have fouled Nicolás Otamendi in the penalty area. Spanish midfielderThe left leg seemed to come down on Otamendi’s leg.
At first, the decision seemed too harsh. The Spanish players were left stunned, protesting the call as their ability match winner disappear. But replays told a clearer story, there was contact, and it was enough for the referee to intervene.
🚨 Grief for Nico Williams! ❌
The goal of Nico Williams cannot be reached after the VAR found the mistakes of Mikel Merino against Nicolás Otamendi in preparation. 🎥⚽ https://t.co/dj1ZLuWhb7 pic.twitter.com/gdaFJax3MU– Veritas360News (@Veritas360HQ) July 19, 2026
There is no Spanish VAR method
What made the moment more controversial? There was no VAR review. Despite the magnitude of the decision in the World Cup final, Vinčić was stuck on his phone on the field. That made the Spaniards angry and Argentina relieved especially due to the circumstances of the match. At that point, Argentina were already on the ropes. Reduced to 10 men after Enzo Fernandez saw red late in regulation for a sloppy second yellow card on Pau Cubarsi, Lionel Scaloni’s side were holding firm. They hadn’t registered a single shot in 90 minutes and were being completely outplayed.
Spain, meanwhile, had dominated possession, turning away 15 shots, forcing Emiliano Martínez into a record 10 saves, keeping Argentina alive almost single-handedly. One of the best saves came from youngster Lamine Yamal, whose free-kick appeared to be one-of-a-kind before Martinez cleared it away in spectacular fashion.
They tried so hard to rob Spain, the referee disallowed Nico Williams’ clean goal for a non-existent flight. pic.twitter.com/XpZoV2RoEq
– CR8 (@CR8charts) July 19, 2026
🚨 OVERTIME DRAMA! Nico Williams thought he had won it for Spain, but the goal was disallowed for a mistake in the build-up.
Was it the right decision? 👀🇪🇸🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/1pzttJL8WY— Rosey’s News Desk (@Newsgurlie) July 19, 2026
Nico Williams denied a goal when Merino fouled Otamendi in Spain’s FIFA World Cup Final against Argentina. pic.twitter.com/g6AtvrNvM7
– Daily Foot Vibes (@dailyfootvibes) July 19, 2026
In the 96th minute, Nico Williams scored Emiliano Martinez’s goal with a rebound. However, referee Slavko Vincic rejected the goal after deciding that Mikel Merino had stepped on Nicolas Otamendi’s foot during the attack.#worldcup2026 #worldcup2026… pic.twitter.com/nAYnErp4Nd
– 3 world of cards (@3eworldofcards) July 20, 2026
A disallowed goal ended the match, Spain pushing, Argentina to live After 90 minutes ended in a scoreless draw, the game went into overtime with the European team still knocking. Spain finally got their reward the right way, no doubt, of course.
Ferran Torres scored in the 106th minute with a strong shot and finally broke Argentina’s resistance and scored 1-0. FIFA victory. It was a fitting end to a game Spain had dominated from start to finish.
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