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Spain is home with the trophy, but today we're looking at what it actually took Ferran Torres to be the one who scored the winner. We've also got FIFA already floating a 64-team World Cup for 2030, Atlanta United's new center back pairing making their first case for a steadier backline, and a stacked SDH AM lineup running from Charlotte FC scouting to Atlanta entrepreneurship. Stick around tonight too, Atlanta Soccer Tonight goes live from Charlotte at 10pm.

Spain's champions spent Monday doing what only a world champion gets to do: riding an open top bus through the middle of Madrid while an estimated two million fans tried to get close to history. The squad met with Spain's royals and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez before boarding the bus, then wound through the city center from near Moncloa Palace to Cibeles Square, the plaza where Spanish national teams have celebrated for generations.

Sunday's 1-0 win over Argentina in East Rutherford, New Jersey gave Spain its second World Cup, sixteen years after the first in South Africa. Paired with the 2023 Women's World Cup title, Spain becomes the first nation to hold both trophies at the same time, a distinction that added extra weight to Monday's celebration. Leaders from all three co-host nations, U.S. President Donald Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, congratulated the team after the final whistle.

On stage at Cibeles Square, each player walked out to a song of his own choosing, and head coach Luis de la Fuente addressed the crowd directly. "Long live Spain!" he told them, thanking the country for its support throughout the tournament.

The party carried a different weight than 2010. That team lifted the trophy while Spain wrestled with a debt crisis and 20 percent unemployment. This one comes home to an economy that is expanding and an unemployment rate that has been cut in half, a contrast supporters in Madrid were quick to note amid the flags and flares. The celebration was not without tragedy: local authorities in Salamanca reported that a 13 year old boy died after a fountain he had climbed to celebrate collapsed, a sobering note amid the joy.

Ferran Torres scored the goal that won Spain the World Cup, coming off the bench in the 106th minute to beat Argentina 1-0 in East Rutherford, New Jersey and end Emiliano Martínez and company's reign as champions. It was his first goal of the tournament after a run of criticism throughout the competition, and afterward he told FIFA's broadcast partners simply that "destiny was written."

What that moment doesn't show is how close Torres came to walking away from the game entirely. The Valencia academy product turned Manchester City and Barcelona forward has spoken about the toll that constant social media criticism took on him, to the point where he seriously considered abandoning professional football. He sought out sports psychologist José Ángel Caperán, and through that work built the "Shark" persona as a way to manage the noise, a mental framework built on a simple idea: neither a great moment nor a bad stretch defines who you are.

It's a story with an echo inside Spain's own World Cup history. Andrés Iniesta, the man who scored the winner in 2010, has spoken in the years since about the depression he battled after the death of his friend Dani Jarque, a struggle he once described as leaving him counting down to the moment he could take his medication and sleep. Torres and Iniesta, sixteen years apart, both chose to use the biggest platform in the sport to say the quiet part out loud.

Torres has also credited his faith for carrying him through the tournament's harder moments. Whatever combination of therapy, belief and stubbornness got him there, the goal that ended Argentina's title reign came from a player who had already fought a much longer battle just to keep showing up to training.

The first 48-team World Cup has just concluded and people around the game are already talking about expansion. CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez posted on social media that the 2030 World Cup, co-hosted by Spain, Morocco and Portugal with centenary matches in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, will be a "64-team tournament." FIFA has not confirmed anything of the sort, but FIFA president Gianni Infantino told Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport before the final that expansion would be discussed in FIFA's committees now that the 2026 tournament has wrapped.

Infantino's case is about access. "Every nation should be able to dream of taking part in the World Cup," he said, arguing that shutting out smaller federations removes their incentive to keep developing. It's a familiar argument from the same person who pushed the field from 32 to 48 for this tournament, the first World Cup expansion since 1998.

Not everyone is on board. UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin has said flatly he does not support the idea, for the tournament itself or for the qualifying competitions that would lose relevance if more teams simply get in automatically. The Asian Football Confederation's Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa has raised a similar question: if 64 is fine, where does it stop.

The math is actually cleaner than what fans just watched. Sixty four teams in sixteen groups of four would bring back the format most fans grew up with, top two from each group advancing straight to a round of 32, no muddled scramble to rank eight third place teams across different groups like this year's 48-team bracket required. The winner would play the same number of matches as Spain just did, one more than the old 32-team era produced. The total swells to 128 matches, 24 more than the 104 played this summer, which likely means more group stage games kicking off simultaneously or stacked tightly for television rather than stretching the calendar further than it already runs. Whether any of it moves forward will likely come down to how FIFA and the confederations read the lessons of this tournament.

Paulo Díaz and Júnior Alonso sat down with Atlanta reporters for the first time as United players yesterday, four days after a defense missing Stian Gregersen fell 1-0 at Nashville on a Shak Mohammed header in the 79th minute. Atlanta made both signings official one day apart last week, Alonso on July 13 and Díaz on July 14, and the two joined sporting director Chris Henderson at the podium with the same message in slightly different words: stop conceding, and everything else follows.

Díaz arrives on a free transfer after seven seasons at River Plate and 56 caps for Chile, leaving a winning environment for a team currently sitting 14th in the East. He didn't pretend otherwise. "It's a lot easier, speaking purely in sporting terms, to go to teams that are in better shape," he said, "but for us this is a great opportunity, being in a great city, at a great club, and being able to show that we can turn this around." Alonso's route here ran through Miguel Almirón, a close friend and longtime Paraguay teammate who talked him through what to expect from the city and the club once Atlanta's interest turned serious. He arrives off two seasons captaining Atlético Mineiro to a Copa do Brasil and a league title, and fresh from helping Paraguay reach the Round of 16 this summer.

Henderson called Alonso "a hard working defender who will help add solidity and stability to our backline," and both players kept returning to the same theme in their own words. They've already talked with Tata Martino specifically about defensive solidity, about not conceding first so the attack has room to work. "If we're solid defensively, we don't concede goals," Alonso said, "and at some point we're going to break this bad streak we've had of not being able to score." There's a leadership dimension too. Díaz played alongside Leandro González Pires at River Plate, the last real vocal presence in Atlanta's backline, and wants to bring the same organization to what Alonso described separately as a talented but still developing group.

Henderson isn't finished either. He told local media on July 9 that Atlanta could add up to five players this summer, and he confirmed yesterday the club is in good conversations at multiple positions further up the field, some of it tied to departures that haven't been announced yet. Alonso already has his visa and is available Wednesday. Díaz's paperwork is still being processed, so it's worth watching who Martino actually fields when Atlanta visits Charlotte FC, 8:15 on Apple TV, FS1, FOX Deportes and 92.9 The Game.

We'll be at Atlanta United training this morning. Look for a Training Ground Dispatch on our Instagram through the day, with a full Training Ground Notebook up on the website later today.

A New U.S. Viewing Record: Sunday's Spain vs. Argentina final is on pace to become the most watched soccer match in U.S. television history, with preliminary numbers from Telemundo, Peacock and Fox pointing toward a combined 66 to 67 million viewers. That would shatter the previous record of 27.3 million set by Germany vs. Argentina in 2014.

Messi and De Paul Get Time Off: Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul will take extended rest before rejoining Inter Miami, sources told ESPN, following FIFPRO's push for a 21 day post season recovery window. Both will miss Wednesday's match against Chicago Fire FC, Saturday's game against CF Montréal, and the July 29 MLS All-Star Game against the Liga MX All-Stars.

St. Louis Locks Up Orozco: St. Louis City SC signed defender Jaziel Orozco to a contract extension through the 2028-29 season, with a club option for 2029-30. The 22 year old has one goal in 17 appearances for the club since 2025.

Nashville Adds a Teenager: Nashville SC acquired 18 year old striker Zidane Yanez from New York City FC for up to $275,000 in general allocation money. NYCFC receives a guaranteed $50,000 in 2027 plus performance incentives and retains a percentage of any future transfer.

Amoros Steps Away in Gotham: Gotham FC head coach Juan Carlos Amoros began a five week parental leave Monday following the birth of his second child. Lead assistant Shaun Harris will serve as acting coach until Amoros returns in early September.

SDH AM is stacked today, starting early with six guests worth clearing your morning for. Watch on the SDH YouTube or Twitch channels, or on our simulcast with the National Sports Broadcast Network.

8:30: Will Palaszczuk breaks down Charlotte FC ahead of Wednesday's match, the kind of opposition research that actually tells you something before kickoff.

9:05: Kennesaw State's Dr. Leonard Jackson, professor of hospitality management, on what the World Cup's economic impact means for Atlanta and the lessons a city takes from hosting an event this size.

9:30: Atlanta United academy product Braden Dunham, now at Furman, joins from U.S. youth national team camp ahead of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship, which also serves as qualification for the 2027 U20 World Cup. The U.S. opens against Haiti in Puebla, Mexico on Saturday night.

10:00: MLS and NWSL commentator Kacey White stops by for the wider domestic picture.

10:30: Notre Dame's Dr. Michael Morris and Morehouse's Professor Howard Jean-Denis on the Urban Poverty and Business Initiative and its local Aspiring Community Entrepreneurs program, which with support from Coca-Cola is helping founders from historically underrepresented communities across Atlanta build sustainable businesses.

11:00: Tuskegee women's soccer head coach Emanuel Stephens on building a program from the ground up.

Then stick around tonight. Atlanta Soccer Tonight broadcasts live from Charlotte starting at 10pm on 92.9 The Game, the Audacy app, and the 92.9 YouTube channel to get you ready for tomorrow night’s Atlanta United match in the Queen City.

Spain Reclaims the Top of the World Rankings: World Cup champions Spain returned to first place in the FIFA men's rankings, their first time atop the list since January, after beating Argentina in Sunday's final. Argentina dropped to second, while France and England held steady at third and fourth despite England beating France for bronze. Norway was the tournament's biggest riser, jumping 12 places to 19th after reaching the quarterfinals.

World Cup Sets Global Attendance and Economic Records: FIFA confirmed a record 6,810,966 fans attended matches across the 2026 tournament, nearly double the previous record set at the 1994 World Cup in the United States. FIFA estimates the tournament generated roughly $40.9 billion in global economic activity through tourism, hospitality, transportation, retail and media spending.

Rudi Garcia Out as Belgium Coach: The Royal Belgian Football Association confirmed it will not renew Rudi Garcia's contract beyond this month after failing to reach an extension agreement. Garcia led Belgium to the World Cup quarterfinals, where it lost to eventual champion Spain, in an 18 month tenure that began in January 2025.

Laimer Signs Through 2029 at Bayern: Austria international Konrad Laimer signed a new three year deal with Bayern Munich, extending a run that began when he joined from RB Leipzig in July 2023. He has made 136 appearances for the club, helping win two Bundesliga titles and a German Cup.

Duran Lands at Benfica on Loan: Colombia international Jhon Duran joined Benfica on a season long loan from Al-Nassr, his seventh club by age 22. The deal includes an option to make the move permanent for €30 million at the end of the 2026-27 season.

Spain didn't win the World Cup because Ferran Torres never doubted himself. They won it because a player who once considered walking away from the game built himself back up piece by piece, then still had enough left in the 106th minute to do the one thing that mattered most.

Song of the Day: "My Life" by Billy Joel. A song about refusing to let anyone else write your story, which is exactly what Torres spent the last few years fighting to reclaim.

Jason