Kolkata: For around 45 young Spaniards living thousands of kilometres away from home, Kolkata became a little corner of Spain on Sunday night as La Roja defeated Argentina 1-0 to lift the 2026 Fifa World Cup.Working for an NGO on AJC Bose Road and staying in different hostels and hotels along the same stretch, the group gathered around big screens to cheer their team through a tense final that was settled only in the 106th minute when Ferran Torres scored the winner.“It was impossible to sit still,” said Antonio Álvarez, a 22-year-old from Bilbao who has been in Kolkata working with the NGO since Feb. “Every minute felt longer than the last. When the goal finally came, everyone jumped up together. We hugged and congratulated each other. Being so far from Spain, sharing that moment with fellow Spaniards here made it even more special.”The celebrations continued long after the match ended. Almost everyone reached for their phones, making video calls to family and friends back home to celebrate together despite the distance.For Joaquim Lira, 24, from Madrid, the victory came after a sleepless night. He watched every minute of the match before catching barely two hours of sleep and reporting back to work at 6 am on Monday.“I wished I could have been in Madrid with my family and friends for such a historic night,” said Lira. “But watching it in Kolkata, so far from home, with so many people from my own country also made the victory special, one that I will remember for a lifetime. We celebrated together, and then I called my parents as soon as the match finished. The atmosphere back home is euphoric.”By Monday afternoon, the excitement had hardly faded. Natalia Arroyo, 23, was having lunch at a cafe on Sudder Street near New Market after surviving on little sleep. Fatigue, however, seemed insignificant compared with the joy of seeing Spain crowned world champions.“Nobody minded staying awake all night,” said Arroyo with a smile. “We wore our Spain jerseys, sang before kick-off and celebrated every tackle and every chance. During extra time, nobody could even speak because we were so tense. After the goal, everything changed. It was pure happiness.”At another cafe nearby, 21-year-old Caelina Savilla from Madrid admitted the emotional roller coaster had left her exhausted but exhilarated. “There were moments when I thought my heart would stop,” said Savilla. “Football is part of our identity, and winning the World Cup while surrounded by fellow Spaniards in Kolkata is something I’ll never forget.”
