FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States: Discussion Thread

[Localhostspeed]

Argentina didn't play badly in the final, but Spain didn't give Argentina any room to develop their game. Spain dominance throughout the match, with a total of 20 shots, made it difficult for Messi and his teammates to maximize their impact and build effective attacks. They failed to register a single shot on goal in the 90 minutes of normal time. Emiliano Martinez was the hero who prevented Argentina from suffering a heavy defeat, he recorded a record with 11 brilliant saves. It is clear that Spain played better than Argentina, they deserved to win the most prestigious trophy.

You are admitted to the same thing, if Argentina could play from group stage and get to final and have zero short on target and attempt shot to be zero, then they don't deserve that final. I wish it was England that face Spain yesterday it would have been a magical moment but Argentina were aging like they were sold out, Scaloni was not even making right calls until Enzo messed up everything with a red card, that was when I know the game was over.

There is nothing they can do in that match to win it. They were already fighting hard to make shot because Spain goalkeeper didn't make any save, how possible will the team now want to win with 10 vs 11, it's not possible. It was obvious that Argentina were trying to lure Spain to penalty which they were lucky not to accept. If they did go for the penalties, Argentina will have their ways out because of Martinez experience as goal keeper.

[bitLeap]

Argentina played very badly, or rather, they didn't play at all
I don't know what match you saw but I only saw Spain play with an incredible ball possession
The Argentine players simply looked very tired, standing still, walking instead of running.

Messi? Non-existent, the others useless... only fouls and yellow and red cards.
From my point of view, Spain deserved the victory.

Argentina should have received two red cards, as Paredes also committed several dangerous fouls. Argentina mentality was shattered as Spain dominated the game.
Messi was barely visible on the pitch, except in the final minutes. Argentina couldn't match Spain slick ball possession.

[SatoPrincess]

So happy for Rodri. He is the first premier league player to win the World Cup golden ball. Some people may argue that Messi should have won it but I think Rodri deserves the award because he has been so critical to the success of the Spanish team in the World Cup. Let’s be honest, ifMessi had won the World Cup then he probably would have won the award, we all know FIFA would gladly give it to him.

[pewboy]

This world cup was very interesting being hosted by three countries and it has come and gone with all the excitement and regrets, in the end of it all Spain is crowned the winner and I must say that they deserved it. Argentina, also showed that they are a world class team which was why they reached the finals but as it is with sports at the knockout stages a winner must emerge and Spain triumphed over them. I actually bet on England winning the world cup but it didn't happen however I'm happy for Spain because in football you can never underate a Spanish team and they have shown us once again the very reason why national teams should mess with them.

I'm among those who think that Argentina didn't deserve it that much, they had a very simple group where they were the only one of their level... plus they had a suspicious number of referee "favours" which always influenced the match in some way, so i think Spain's victory is doubly deserved.

[boyptc]

Half time, no goal yet.

Very exciting. Let's see which team is going to get the goal on the second half.

Both teams are afraid of each other. Argentina is afraid because Spain is much better than them. I couldn't quite figure out why Spain is afraid.
I think an early goal in the second half would change the course of the match.
The 45 minutes were very dull.
Even the referee finished the first half without facing any difficulties.

There it goes, only one goal for the finals of the world cup and that only shows how careful/scared they are.

But Spain did it better. Sorry for the Messi fans, I'm with you and I was counting for him to win this world cup.

Although things have been hard for Argentina, they also did good because they went through a lot and reaching the finals ain't easy.

[SatoPrincess]

What an end to the World Cup. FIFA was pushing the Messi Argentina narrative so hard, I’m happy that they lost. Spain didn’t just only beat them, they denied FIFA and the Argentina fans the chance to complain about missed chances or fouls. Spain completely dominated the game as we can see on the stats. Messi had zero highlights for the media to talk about so now they are silent as if nothing happened.

[Warkop]

No one is writing about how dirty and disgusting those Argentina players reacted to the lose.

How do you go on beating and punching Spain players when thry decide to celebrate. I saw Monila punching Rodri in the chest, I saw Paredes punching Garcia, the same with Gavi. The same for one of thier staffs hitting Daniel Olmo in the neck That was pure thuggery and bullying. He shouldn't only be red carded, he should be penalised by fifa and possibly banned. Glad to see that football won  the game.

Argentine players have the worst character in this World Cup. They have been displaying it from the beginning of the tournament and have been getting away with it because they were overlooked by some of the match officials. It was a shame to see professional players attacking opponents for no reason.

Their fans have been accused of racist behaviour. One begins to wonder what Argentine society will be like because the behaviour of these players and fans tarnished the image of the country.

Honestly, this is a country that really only wants victory and does not accept the final result of their match in the Final round, this incident began with a Spanish player who ran to approach his teammate to feel the victory but there was one Argentinian player who was emotional and pulled the shirt of the Spanish player, that's where the incident happened, but if I draw from several Argentinian matches when hosting France, that There was one Argentinian player who was too excessive in celebrating their victory in the semifinal round. I think this is a fitting response to what they have done so far.

KARMA IS THE REAL 

[sotelorene]

Argentina played very badly, or rather, they didn't play at all
I don't know what match you saw but I only saw Spain play with an incredible ball possession
The Argentine players simply looked very tired, standing still, walking instead of running.

Messi? Non-existent, the others useless... only fouls and yellow and red cards.
From my point of view, Spain deserved the victory.

Argentina should have received two red cards, as Paredes also committed several dangerous fouls. Argentina mentality was shattered as Spain dominated the game.
Messi was barely visible on the pitch, except in the final minutes. Argentina couldn't match Spain slick ball possession.

I don't actually blame Enzo Fernandez for the Red card because he could not stand the possession and pressure Spain exerted on them and parades also was very aggressive, he almost got a red card too but I guess the reason the referee didn't give him was because they were playing short one already ( Enzo Fernandez Red card) and they were still suffering in the game so I think he just showed them Mercy. The final yesterday was not interesting.

[Alpha Marine]

What an end to the World Cup.FIFA was pushing the Messi Argentina narrative so hard, I’m happy that they lost. Spain didn’t just only beat them, they denied FIFA and the Argentina fans the chance to complain about missed chances or fouls. Spain completely dominated the game as we can see on the stats. Messi had zero highlights for the media to talk about so now they are silent as if nothing happened.

What exactly do you want them to say? They fought their way to the final, they were dominated and lost, so what do you want them to say? Obviously, they will move on. Or do you want them to come out and say Messi is no longer the greatest because he lost the final? Despite the fact that he was the reason they made it to the final?
I expected Spain to win because even before the final, anybody who understands football will know Spain is the best team of the tournament.

And this narrative of FIFA favouritism and all needs to end. I assume you guys are more intelligent than this. You can't be falling for silly narratives. Even if you don't like Messi or Argentina for whatever reason, it doesn't mean you should lose all your sense of reasoning. All the calls that went in favour of Argentina in the knockout stages were the right calls.
Martinez was fouled, and that made Egypt's goal be cancelled. Salah was not fouled, and Embolo got a deserved second yellow card, so please, stop following the crowd to echo everything.

[hd49728]

I don't actually blame Enzo Fernandez for the Red card because he could not stand the possession and pressure Spain exerted on them and parades also was very aggressive, he almost got a red card too but I guess the reason the referee didn't give him was because they were playing short one already ( Enzo Fernandez Red card) and they were still suffering in the game so I think he just showed them Mercy. The final yesterday was not interesting.

Enzo Fernadez got a second yellow card rightly but his first yellow card is too harsh. The referee can simply give Enzo a warning about his attitude, in a final match, I don't think Enzo's reaction in that situation is too much so that it deserves a yellow card.

In a situation of his second yellow card, Enzo truly should do it better, it's unnecessary and perhaps he thought that the referee will not give him a yellow card. In a match when Argentina were dominated entirely by Spain, playing with one player less is like a suicide for Argentina. Enzo likely lost control in that situation and his team had to pay very high cost.

[johnsaributua]

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Argentina should have received two red cards, as Paredes also committed several dangerous fouls. Argentina mentality was shattered as Spain dominated the game.
Messi was barely visible on the pitch, except in the final minutes. Argentina couldn't match Spain slick ball possession.

I think your answer is very appropriate because I also watched the match where they should have received two red cards but the referee who led the match did not do it even though it was very clear what the Argentinian players did to the Spanish players so that this is what many people do not really acknowledge the achievements made by Argentina in this World Cup and in that match Argentina could not control the match because of the alertness carried out by Spain which made them have to admit the quality possessed by Spain especially when Argentina had not received a red card, they still controlled the ball completely controlled by Spain and I think it is very appropriate for their achievements Spain in this World Cup.

[püsür]

No one is writing about how dirty and disgusting those Argentina players reacted to the lose.

How do you go on beating and punching Spain players when thry decide to celebrate. I saw Monila punching Rodri in the chest, I saw Paredes punching Garcia, the same with Gavi. The same for one of thier staffs hitting Daniel Olmo in the neck That was pure thuggery and bullying. He shouldn't only be red carded, he should be penalised by fifa and possibly banned. Glad to see that football won  the game.

Argentine players have the worst character in this World Cup. They have been displaying it from the beginning of the tournament and have been getting away with it because they were overlooked by some of the match officials. It was a shame to see professional players attacking opponents for no reason.

Their fans have been accused of racist behaviour. One begins to wonder what Argentine society will be like because the behaviour of these players and fans tarnished the image of the country.

Honestly, this is a country that really only wants victory and does not accept the final result of their match in the Final round, this incident began with a Spanish player who ran to approach his teammate to feel the victory but there was one Argentinian player who was emotional and pulled the shirt of the Spanish player, that's where the incident happened, but if I draw from several Argentinian matches when hosting France, that There was one Argentinian player who was too excessive in celebrating their victory in the semifinal round. I think this is a fitting response to what they have done so far.

KARMA IS THE REAL 

We’ve probably never seen a team get so thoroughly outclassed in a final. It’s unbelievably bad that they can’t create any chances at all. Portugal, Belgium—who conceded four—and France all put up a much better fight. That’s why the tournament brackets, which were artificially constructed to force certain players into the final, need to be reviewed. Teams like Cape Verde, Egypt and Switzerland shouldn’t be reaching the final stages. We shouldn’t be padding our statistics with them. Argentina, who should have been eliminated after the group stage, were practically pushed through to the final. They showed not the slightest bit of effort. We watched a dreadful final, a dreadful match. Messi is genuinely a liability to the team; the team plays as if they’re missing a player with him on the pitch – he’s given up on the game mentally.

I wish England had reached the final. At least they’d have treated us to some magnificent football. They did show us that sort of football in the third-place play-off. This might well be the most appalling World Cup final in history.

[Accardo]

There it goes, only one goal for the finals of the world cup and that only shows how careful/scared they are.

But Spain did it better. Sorry for the Messi fans, I'm with you and I was counting for him to win this world cup.

Although things have been hard for Argentina, they also did good because they went through a lot and reaching the finals ain't easy.

The starting XI gave away Argentina from the beginning, Scaloni was unthoughtful about his line up, he made terrible decisions by starting players who have no forms of impact recorded since the knockout stage, and left out players like Lautaro Martinez on the bench, who scored the winning goal against England, he substituted Alvarez earlier in the match for a central defender who have not featured in the knockout stage. Inexperienced players made up for the players he lined up to compete against Spain, and technically Spain makes good use of their opposition's tactical loopholes.

[coinlary]

Enzo Fernadez got a second yellow card rightly but his first yellow card is too harsh. The referee can simply give Enzo a warning about his attitude, in a final match, I don't think Enzo's reaction in that situation is too much so that it deserves a yellow card.

In a situation of his second yellow card, Enzo truly should do it better, it's unnecessary and perhaps he thought that the referee will not give him a yellow card. In a match when Argentina were dominated entirely by Spain, playing with one player less is like a suicide for Argentina. Enzo likely lost control in that situation and his team had to pay very high cost.

Not sure he didn't get any warning but if the refree didn't book him on the first attack,  and  let's assume the game reached the penalties with  Argentina emergingas the winned , the specific image or video of the attacks will surface online and people will claim Enzo should have been sent off in the game I.e they cheated again and bribed officials  .

The blame is on Enzo, you're already with a yellow and you're making a wrecklesss move just to recover a ball. That could have resulted in a serious injury if cubarsi landed wrongly . On a norm , another player could have ended with a broken radius or ulna even with the way he landed .

Game doesn't care if you're losing or not just as life won't care to add extra problems to a worse situation.

[Sandra_hakeem]

So happy for Rodri. He is the first premier league player to win the World Cup golden ball. Some people may argue that Messi should have won it but I think Rodri deserves the award because he has been so critical to the success of the Spanish team in the World Cup. Let’s be honest, ifMessi had won the World Cup then he probably would have won the award, we all know FIFA would gladly give it to him.

Haven't we all seen how empty a 39 year old Messi is? So the accusations against FIFA must be right, but this time, they had too many eyes on them to see if they might want to manipulate the game as usual. Rodri deserves the Golden ball and with every level of humility, he doesn't make it a big deal at all. Unlike Emiliano Martínez (although a keeper) who disrespectfully put the Golden gloves on his penis and shoved it to everyone.

[Dunamisx]

What an end to the World Cup.FIFA was pushing the Messi Argentina narrative so hard, I’m happy that they lost. Spain didn’t just only beat them, they denied FIFA and the Argentina fans the chance to complain about missed chances or fouls. Spain completely dominated the game as we can see on the stats. Messi had zero highlights for the media to talk about so now they are silent as if nothing happened.

This is a good example to the world that it is not a do or die affairs to play together, unlike other players that were found fighting after such an ugly incident upon Argentina loss to Spain.

Seeing this already is emotional because it's interpret a lot of message to the world, football is for entertainment purpose and not to fight or create enmity between ourselves, what's the match is over, then the struggle is as well over and we embrace each other with unity and love.

[Livingleged]

I have been saying this since  that Argentina have not met a better holding team and that’s why they look too good, look at how Spain dominated the game from the first minute till the last minute. Who could have thought Argentina  in a World Cup final will not have a short on target even with Lionel Messi in that team, Spain didn’t only surprise me with the masterclass performance but silencing Argentina attack was the most amazing thing to me. I honestly thought it was going to be a serious battle between the two teams but what I watched yesterday was a one sided game. And we can’t say it was due to the red card given to Enzo Fernandez  because the it was obvious that Spain outplayed Argentina even before the red card was awarded. No doubt the better team won, football also won.

But what I don’t consider not right was the golden ball that was  given to Rodri, I think Messi deserves it more than Rodri but  every other award was given to  the well deserved player except that particular one.

[SatoPrincess]

In a post match interview, Torres had this to say about his goal: “ It was a goal scored by 47 million people – it wasn’t even mine or from the 26 players”. IMO it was a goal scored by the football world because a lot of people wanted Spain to win that game even South America wanted Spain to lose. Argentina  have been a very poor sport and comported themselves very poorly in the tournament so it’s not surprising that people wanted them to lose.

This victory might just earn Rodri a second Ballon d’Or, what do you think guys?

[Iranus]

So happy for Rodri. He is the first premier league player to win the World Cup golden ball. Some people may argue that Messi should have won it but I think Rodri deserves the award because he has been so critical to the success of the Spanish team in the World Cup. Let’s be honest, ifMessi had won the World Cup then he probably would have won the award, we all know FIFA would gladly give it to him.

Rodri is a great playmaker. He also performed well in the world cup. Despite not scoring any goals or assists, he is the most  important player and the best player in the Spain squad. He is  also the most experienced player in the spain squad. Rodri  played a very important role in keeping Spain's midfield stable. Because of the stability  of the midfield, Spain's defenders  were also able to play well. Spain  conceded only one goal in the entire world cup.

[cyberninja2]

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I'm among those who think that Argentina didn't deserve it that much, they had a very simple group where they were the only one of their level... plus they had a suspicious number of referee "favours" which always influenced the match in some way, so i think Spain's victory is doubly deserved.

I agree with your statement regarding Argentina's failure to achieve a positive result in the match. It's perfectly natural for them to accept defeat. From the first half until the end of normal time, they struggled to face the Spanish defense. Spain is one of the teams that concedes relatively few goals. If I'm not mistaken, only one goal was conceded, and that goal was the only goal conceded against Spain. This clearly shows that their defense, from the preliminary round to the final, was very solid and difficult for opponents to penetrate.

The issue of frequent refereeing, in my opinion, isn't a problem. We need to understand that Argentina's position, from the qualifying round until before they defeated England in the semifinals, was always against teams ranked below the top 10 in the FIFA standings. This means that only against England did they face a team ranked above the top 10 in the FIFA standings. This, in my opinion, is very unsportsmanlike. Therefore, in the match against England, Argentina must admit that they struggled to beat England.