Spain winning the World Cup was expected. The way they did it was not.

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — Spain is the champion of the world. Everyone saw them win the World Cup, with Ferran Torres scoring in extra time to beat Argentina 1-0 Sunday, July 19.

You'll have to forgive Spain's players themselves, then, if they are having trouble with the fact that they've conqured the world.

"I still don't believe it," said Pedro Porro, Spain's right back. "I think the first few days will go by, and I'm not going to believe it."

The goalkeeper Unai Simon wore a medal around his neck but said it may take a trans-Atlantic flight and a celebratory parade to jolt him into reality.

"I'm still taking it all in a bit," Simon said. "I didn't have any kind of emotion when the referee blew the whistle.

"What we've earned, what we've achieved? I think, hearing from my family what they've experienced, I'm sure when we get to Spain we'll realize the crazy thing we've just done."

That crazy thing, winning the World Cup for just the second time in this country with a rich soccer history, allowing just one goal while doing it and becoming the first team to finally put up a challenge too great for Argentina to overcome.

It all happened in an unlikely way.

Spain went into the tournament as one of the favorites, but La Roja won the tournament in a way few saw possible.

The 19-year-old Barcelona prospect who may have had the most impact was not the flashy winger Lamine Yamal, the smiling teenager who led Spain to the Euro title two summers ago. Rather, it was center back Pau Cubarsi who was more influential on matches and was named Best Young Player of the tournament for his efforts.

How did Spain surprise experts in it World Cup win?

Yamal wasn't bad, but the attacker was certainly expected to have more counting stats — even coming off a hamstring injury that ended his Barcelona season early (though he played enough to be named the best player in La Liga).

But Cubarsi was very good. He ends the final as the player who made the most defensive contributions in the deciding game, with eight, and also put 139 touches on the ball. He completed 121 of the 126 passes he attempted, but his positioning, his ability to win back balls and the way he quieted the Argentine threat without committing a single foul in a physical game meant he was one of the most influential players.

It was one of several things that worked for Spain and turned on its head the pre-tournament idea the team would compete as Lamal and other creators.

In goal, Unai Simon was beaten just once. He embraced the role of sweeper keeper behind the adventurous back line eagerly — sometimes too eagerly, frightening Spain fans with his charges forward from the box to clear a ball.

But Simon didn't have the starting place secured heading into the summer. David Raya took the No. 1 shirt after a superb season with Arsenal.

"It's really important to keep the group together, to keep that feeling among everyone, that respect between those who have more or less minutes," Simon said. "In that aspect, the 'mister' is top-class. I think he knew how to manage all the emotions of all the players very well."

What was Spain manager Luis de la Fuente doing before the World Cup?

That mister, aka manager, Luis de la Fuente, did more than just keep the group in harmony. The togetherness has been there for some time, with the coach leading them to titles at the youth levels, in the Euros and now at the very top level.

It would've been easy for things to unravel, to let frustration seep in. After all, while Spain kept Argentina from getting any shots in regulation, there always was the risk of the Albiceleste pulling off a smash-and-grab, getting one goal from the greatest player of all time and riding off into the sunset as champions.

Instead, Spain continued to play its game, making the man advantage it earned count — doubly so with La Roja almost always in control of the ball and keeping Lionel Messi and the Argentina attack from getting any touches.

"There was a phrase we’d said: 'Gentlemen, we have a date with history.' We’re going to hit them first," de La Fuente said during his postmatch news conference. "In extra time, it was just about reminding them that we’d played a great game, we had it controlled but in a final against an opponent like Argentina a slip-up at any moment can cost you a goal.

"After the game ended, there were players who have been here for the longest time who asked: Mister, what’s left for us to win? Because we’ve won everything in every category. We decided what’s left? The next game in September, because this team is impossible to tire out."

The discovery of Porro, a Premier League player but one off the radar for many Spaniards because he jumped abroad at an early age, was crucial for de La Fuente. In the 26-year-old, he found a player who could combine well with Yamal, both getting forward and creating danger — and finishing off crucial goals twice in the World Cup — but also one who wouldn't over-expose the rest of the back line.

That back line, anchored by Aymeric Laporte but with Cubarsi by his side, also was phenomenal. Marc Cucurella comfortably slid into the final third often, knowing the defenders and the brilliant Rodri would be able to snuff out any attack and recycle the ball on the rare occasion Spain put a pass wrong.

An unexpected goalkeeper, surprise defensive superiority and players picking up the slack as Yamal searched for his best? Blend it all, and you end up with what the world saw Sunday: A Spain team that was all but unbeatable for the entire World Cup.

Stats that would've indicated doom before the tournament, including a 0-0 draw with Cape Verde to open the competition, Yamal scoring just once in the competition and a teenager becoming the most prominent defender, still led to the finish many expected from the start.

Believe it or not, Spain is the champion of the world.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Spain winning the World Cup was expected. The way they did it was not.