When the match ended in New Jersey, several Argentina players — including Lionel Messi — sank to the grass.
Others stood frozen as Spain’s players dashed across the pitch in celebration.
Rodri, withdrawn in extra time, sprinted from the bench to join his team-mates.
As the Manchester City midfielder went past Molina, the Argentina defender appeared to strike Rodri on the arm or midriff.
That moment lit the spark.
Rodri confronted Molina, but it was the Argentine who surged forward aggressively.
Eric Garcia ran in to back up his colleague, at which point Leandro Paredes got involved too, jabbing Garcia in the throat.
Unused substitute Gavi tried to step in, only for Thiago Almada to bundle him to the ground.
Paredes then shoved Gavi over by thrusting a hand into the Spaniard’s face.
Roberto Ayala appeared to hold Garcia by the neck before seemingly striking Spain midfielder Dani Olmo.
On BBC One, Alan Shearer said Paredes swung several punches at someone’s face and stressed there was no place for that.
He added that, while the result matters and losing hurts, there is a proper way to accept defeat; too often, he felt, Argentina fall short, and their reaction after full-time was terrible.
Joe Hart said the game was over and there could be no complaints about what happened, calling the behaviour disgusting.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, who had tried to calm things down, seemed to play down the flashpoints in his post-match comments.
He said they strive to be gracious whether winning or losing, and that on this occasion they were accepting defeat.
Scaloni added that although they lost, life goes on and the path they took to reach this stage should not be forgotten.