In Castelldefels, Spain, thousands of fans waved Spanish flags, shot fireworks, and hugged into the early hours after Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in the World Cup final. Ferran Torres scored the winner in extra time, giving Spain its second title.

The tourist town south of Barcelona also has a large Argentine expat community. Chief among them in spirit is Lionel Messi, who spent his prime years at Barcelona and still owns an $8 million complex in Castelldefels.

Many Argentine and neutral fans wore Messi's number 10 shirt. In Catalonia, where independence sentiment persists, many support Argentina due to Messi's influence. The Argentina captain's former home in Bellamar is a local landmark.

Restaurants like La Pampa display photos of Messi, while Ankara Burger features shirts of Argentine clubs. Catalonia hosts 37,980 Argentine expats, the largest group in Spain.

Controversy over Argentine players' Falkland Islands banner and President Milei's support for Israel stirred debate elsewhere, but in Castelldefels, politics took a backseat to football.

Gio and Gema Gonzalez, an Argentine-Spanish couple, flew both flags. Gio, a research scientist, said: "I was dreaming Argentina would win, but I'm happy for my wife that Spain could win."

Source: www.aljazeera.com