Fans gather to watch World Cup final in West El Paso
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)- The Shack in West El Paso drew a crowd to watch the 2026 World Cup Final between Spain and defending champion Argentina in Lionel Messi's potential last World Cup Match.
A majority of the fans at The Shack were cheering for Spain with one Spain fan, Gonzalo de la Puerta García, predicting a 2-1 win for La Roja when speaking to ABC-7 just after halftime ended which would prove to be incorrect.
García, who is from Malaga in the Andalucia region of Spain, told ABC-7 though that the system of Spanish football plays a role in why the country is able to play so well.
"We are doing a great job because they are playing the same way in all divisions." Garcia said.
García also shared with ABC-7 what the feeling is like when your country wins the World Cup when he described the scenes in his home country after the team's 2010 victory.
"For me having the opportunity to watch Spain, win the World Cup in South Africa was one of the best experiences in my life," García said. "All the cities, all the citizens, all the people, they get crazy and went to the airport to receive the national team."
The crowd let out collective sighs with arms in the air as physical exclamation mark with every missed chance and whistle of the referee as the game finished still 0-0 after 90 minutes and as the time continued without any goals, the tension built.
It would be extra time when the game provided a relief to Spain fans with Ferran Torres's goal in the 106th minute putting Spain up 1-0 as the crowd exploded with cheers with less than 15 minutes to go.
Argentina would not have a response though especially after going down to 10 men after Enzo Fernandez was given a red card and ejected from the match in the 93rd minute.
The final whistle after 120 minutes gave the crowd a second burst of energy as Argentina would fail to repeat as champions and Spain won their second World Cup 16 years after their first World Cup victory in 2010 beating the Netherlands in the South Africa final.
Another Spanish fan, Paulina Barbieri, told ABC-7 after the game that beyond being happy for a Spain victory she also thought this tournament played a role in uniting people through the love for the sport.
"it's something that unites everyone, even though you're not within the soccer culture it still makes everyone want to watch it," Barbieri said. "Even more so if you're a part of the country, you're so into it, I'm so excited because I get to be a winner."
This means the Spanish Men's and Women's team are now reigning world Champions, with the Spanish women winning the last Women's World Cup in 2023.
