World Cup winner thanks himself following tournament heroics

News

FT Desk

Spain are world champions following a tight 1-0 victory against Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey on Sunday.

La Roja headed into the final having overcome France in the semi-final, while the South American side progressed after dramatically beating England.

The final itself was not one for the ages. In fact, Argentina became the first team in World Cup final history not to have a shot on goal within the first 90 minutes of play.

After Enzo Fernandez's red card, it seemed inevitable that Spain would go on to win it and they did so via a fine goal from Ferran Torres, who lashed a finish home after a headed assist from Nico Williams.

The star of the show was again Rodri, however, as the Manchester City man dictated the tempo of the match, just as he did so in the semi versus France.

The story of Rodri's comeback to the pinnacle of football is an inspiring one as in September of 2024, he suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury that saw him sidelined for the majority of the campaign, eventually returning in May of 2025 in the penultimate match of the season for City.

He didn't look himself over the next year or so as the recovery to match fitness was a long one.

But, he looked every inch the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner at the World Cup, and following Spain's victory he had plenty of people to thank for the moment, including himself.

"We're a bit shocked right now, even myself," Rodri told Fox Sports. "I cannot express with words. I think now we're like in a cloud but, for me, it's been a very tough time.

"I just want the new generations to see my example as an opportunity. When you go down, you can rise again. This is my philosophy for my entire life.

"Of course, sometimes things go well, things go wrong, but always the positiveness.

"I said to the lads before the game, 'we have to go for the game.' We need to face them, we have to look to their eyes. We want this game.

"And then life gives you the World Cup or not, but we were brave and I was brave in that moment I was down, so I want to thank all the people that helped me.

"But I want to thank myself, to be honest, in those moments."

“Rodri es un jugador impresionante, pero no se trata de jugar tras 6, 7 u 8 meses y volver a ser el jugador que era antes, no. ¿Sabéis cuándo lo será? En el Mundial con España. En el Mundial veremos al mejor Rodri”.

Este es Pep Guardiola el 3 de octubre de 2025. Dicho y hecho. https://t.co/PuKLzorCnj pic.twitter.com/vbLyAsSWk4

— Pablo Montaño (@pabmontano) July 15, 2026

Remarkably, a clip went viral over the weekend of Pep Guardiola insisting to everyone in October that the period we would see Rodri back to his best would indeed be the World Cup.

“I said to him, and he maybe struggled to understand, it’s not about six, seven, eight months out, then playing and being the Rodri of before,” the former Manchester City manager had said.

“No. Do you know when Rodri will be good? At the World Cup with Spain. At the World Cup he will be the best Rodri.”

Following his exploits, the Spain captain was also awarded the Golden Ball, given to the best player at the tournament.

There is one year remaining on his contract with Man City and although rumours of a switch to Real Madrid persist, he is set to remain a player at the Etihad under new head coach Enzo Maresca.