A commander from Ryanair became Spain's most celebrated messenger this Monday by announcing over the PA system during a flight from Milan to Alicante that the Spanish national team had won its second Football World Cup.
The video of the moment, originally published on TikTok by the account @_crisscb and picked up by numerous media outlets, went viral in a matter of hours, garnering hundreds of thousands of reactions.
The passengers on the flight were wearing La Roja shirts, but they had taken off without knowing the result of the final: the overlap of the match schedule with their journey left them unable to follow the game.
The pilot took advantage of that uncertainty to create a textbook announcement.
He began in a serious and seemingly somber tone: "This is the commander speaking to inform you that unfortunately..."
The faces of the passengers immediately reflected anguish: glances exchanged, gestures of despair, the tense silence of those fearing the worst news.
Then came the twist that changed everything: "Those who have a Spain jersey with a single star will need to buy another one."
Euphoria at thousands of meters in height
The plane erupted in screams, applause, and cheers.
The travelers, already dressed in the colors of La Roja, celebrated exuberantly while many captured the moment with their mobile phones.
The reference to the star on the jersey was not coincidental: until that match, the Spanish kit displayed just one star, that of the title from South Africa 2010.
With Sunday’s victory, it’s time to add a second.
Spain champions for the second time
Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in the final of the 2026 World Cup, held on Sunday, July 19, at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, marking the first historic confrontation between both teams in a World Cup.
The decisive goal was scored by Ferrán Torres in the 106th minute of extra time, after collecting a rebound inside the box and shooting over Emiliano "Dibu" Martínez.
It was Torres' only goal in the entire tournament, although he had already provided key assists throughout the competition.
Argentina finished the match with ten players after Enzo Fernández was sent off with a second yellow card in the 90+3 minute, and did not make a single shot on goal during the 90 minutes of regulation, an unprecedented occurrence in the history of World Cup finals.
Rodri received the Golden Ball of the tournament, while Unai Simón took home the Golden Glove and Pau Cubarsí won the award for the best young player.
Spain closed the tournament with seven wins and one draw in eight matches, 14 goals scored and only one conceded, the strongest defense of any champion in the history of the World Cup.
A video that captures the collective euphoria
The pilot's moment is part of the wave of celebrations that swept across Spain and the world following the title, with parties taking place in streets, homes, and stadiums.
The video of the Ryanair captain showed that euphoria reached the skies as well, and that sometimes the best way to deliver news is to make it wait for a few seconds.
As the newspaper Sport summarized: "Spain now has its second star on the jersey, after a final in which they were clearly superior to the Argentine team. To have a final coincide on the plane, what bad luck..."
The FIFA distributed a record pool of 871 million dollars in this World Cup, of which 51 million went to Spain as champions, nearly double the amount distributed in Qatar 2022.
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