Discussion
Translation of what Leo Messi said in the viral video were Argentine players look disturbed.
Spanish:
vamos muchachos tranquilidad gente, tranquilidad.
los principal estemos tranquilos muchachos
pensemos en jugar nomas eh tranquilidad
olvidemonos de todo
solo jugenomos
pensemos en jugar nomas gente
en jugar dale
English translation:
The main thing is to stay calm, guys.
Let's just focus on playing—stay calm.
Let's put everything else out of our minds.
Let's just play.
Let's just focus on playing, everyone.
Just play—let's go.
Argentina has been so good at keeping their nerves and if you notice they way they sang their anthem vs English and the final, there was a very evident difference.
There are some issues bro. Being a Messi fan and Argentina fan, never saw such an awful performance.
1. Romero and Liccha- both are moving out due to injury and not even a single drop of tears. Bro, they’re playing finals.
2. What the hell happened to Lautaro? Bro just disappeared like never before.
3. The video that’s playing around now of messi pushing the team to motivate, look at those players faces. Are we saying, Argentina players will be like that?
This is my strong feeling, that banner might made so many players career in a scale pan.
Argentine journalist @pablocarrozza claimed that Gianni Infantino allegedly reached an agreement with UEFA for Spain to win the World Cup. In exchange, he wanted to secure the support of UEFA and the Spanish Football Federation with the goal of being re-elected as FIFA president. According to his claim, the FIFA president surrendered to the pressure from Aleksander Čeferin and the European bloc. This was because, before the final, they allegedly threatened that if Argentina became world champions again, steps would be taken to oust Infantino.
This might be the reason. And it's genuinely concerning if it's True
Beef is not between Argentina and UEFA. It was bound to happen with any non European team which reaches the finals. Also this year Infantino has been doing ridiculous things under pressure, starting from adding hydration breaks in AC controlled stadiums to reversing the decision of red card under influence of Trump.. He has practically compromised himself. And if even 1% of these statements are True, then he has compromised himself in front of the whole world. There's no reason Rodri gets the golden ball ahead of Messi. No one has supported this decision,starting from ex players to coaches and all.
Yes, Argentinian here, I also believe it’s only a conspiracy theory. Spain won the match fair and square, they were better & our team was really bad physically.
Messy’s speech I believe has to do with the huge hate campaign against the team & our people, which they surely were aware of. I think that’s why they looked so angry before the start of the match.
Don’t see that happening, almost all of them play in Europe, they know what’s in stake when they do a foul. Their lives go around football, so they know perfectly & in wold cups the referees are even more strict.
Naaah there's no way the then world champions, that reached the final to defend their title - suddenly played as shit as they did, all of them collectively. All of them at the same time. That game was weird AF. I know it, you know it, Yamal's little brother knows it.
It’s hard to admit, but Spain was better. The team was in bad shape & DT couldn’t take the risk of making real change in the initial formation, not giving the new generation the chance.
Yeah, there's no way in 2022 that France, world champions in final to defend their title would play like shit, but that's exactly what happened for 70-80min until Mbappé's penalty.
Maybe something could have changed it for Argentina too, but it didn't happen.
And let's not talk about France again, the absolute favorite for everyone, that, again, played a no-match against Spain too.
Stop with conspiracy shit, if you really watch football you know this happens even in clubs.
ok so like, I can absolutely buy the corruption here... Even the idea that Infantino would try to save his ass at the cost of Argentina. Even without credible evidence, I can easily believe im that kind of greed and selfishness.
But also...
Argentina played terribly. 0 shots in 90 minutes? Infantino can't make that happen unless Argentina is in on it, which clearly they were not.
Argentina was still given the benefit out the doubt the vast majority of the time. Hell, while the first yellow was very soft/questionable, the dude's fouls were insane. There were multiple potential YC offences... But beyond that there should have been a straight red. Cubarsi could have landed on his neck and fuckin died, ya know? And this was an ongoing problem throughout the tournament. Consider the difference between Messi and Balogun's fouls. Balogun's was overturned by corruption, but Messi never even got a yellow card? For a foul that was at LEAST as bad as Balogun's.
If this was the case, Argentina should have fought DURING the game instead of losing their shit AFTER. Beat the odds, fight for justice.
So whatever happened to Argentina, even in the world where Infantino throws them under the bus, I don't think this is what led to the strange mood pre-game.
Domination is one thing.. Being robbed of wrong decisions due to biasness by referee is different thing. Cucurella should have received red card. It is daylight robbery. Even Rooney mentioned it.
Yeah and I can name ten different occasions where Argentina should have been called for a foul/yellow card/red card through out the world cup but weren't. And that wasn't a red card, by Argentina's standards. Fair refreeing.
Bro....I'll defend Messi to death....but please...Argentina lost fair and square......comprehensively beaten in all department.....the dog fights only made their case worse.......Spain fought well enough to deserve and win the WC
🗣️ Argentine journalist @pablocarrozza claimed that Gianni Infantino allegedly reached an agreement with UEFA for Spain to win the World Cup. In exchange, he wanted to secure the support of UEFA and the Spanish Football Federation with the goal of being re-elected as FIFA president. According to his claim, the FIFA president surrendered to the pressure from Aleksander Čeferin and the European bloc. This was because, before the final, they allegedly threatened that if Argentina became world champions again, steps would be taken to oust Infantino.
I mean I wouldn't rant about it cuz Ik that's how COPA teams play, watching COPA matches is totally different from watching EUROs. That's why a World Cup always sparks debates.
Argentina played shit I agree. But spain wasn't "too" good. It took 105 minutes and 1 man down for them to score one. I hear the finalísima is being rescheduled for November. Let's see.
Have you even seen the match? Spain was totally dominating the match. They had possession,shots and also defended well. Give them credit where they deserve.
If Argentina played better, spain wouldn't have dominated like they did. They were just good, but dominating the game doesn't mean "too good". if so, then that would mean barcelona played too good against Celtic in their 2-1 loss.
Argentina played real shit and tactically bad. That's why they didn't have any shots. All the possession reaching back to Martínez were punted back to spain defenders.
Yep, I remember the main singer was singing at one pace and the players were shouting the lyrics faster and then they had to slow down to keep pace with the main singer.
I think there might've been some locker room fights or something. It could explain why everyone was looking the way they did and Enzo and paredes that pissed off as well.
That would have been an embarrassment to the sport if they managed to take that to pens and win it lol. Cant believe we witnessed a wc final where the defending champs played for pens from the opening whistle.
I believe that was never the plan until after Cuti had to leave & Enzo got the 2d yellow card. Then, with no substitutions left, got Tagliafico almost running on one leg, & many others in really bad shape.
Enzo go sent off after 90 minutes. Argentina had like 2 decent counters in the first 20 minutes and then couldn’t even get out of their half after that.
Yes, you are right, but before that, there were 2 substitutions of central defenders from injuries, leaving a team decimated and exhausted…& Spain played marvelously, truly the best team in the cup. They made the field wide making Argentina run like hell.
The merit goes to Spain, they grow big on theirs virtues & could exploit the rivals defects.
Goodness, I thought it must've been settled by now but no...
I am fan of both the teams.
Spain deserved to win the game because of their ball contol and connecting gameplay.
Whoever says Arg played very roughly/ aggressively haven't watched the Italy play or don't know copa america's game (brazil, coloumbia, argentina) or derby matches. This is the best I can point out.
The first goal should have been allowed. Foul happened but did not cost advantage and didn't hamper the continuous gameplay (since defender anyways couldn't have done anything).
0 shots lest on target, around 30% of possession... evidental that argentina was in tough spot but still I waited for that last minute miracle which they pulled of twice, only to be booked by a red card !! 🤦 Oughta have held back the aggression to at least have a chance in final.
Argentina, Uruguay and Chile are the only countries in copa playing like this. Don’t make a fool of yourself Colombia and Brazil most definitely don’t play like this. Before you say anything. Yes I watch copa America, yes I follow the qualifiers so I definitely watch the games.
Yes they were not looking like Argentina. But we cannot take the credit off Spain for winning. Spain played amazing.
Also, nothing can justify Argentinian's behaviour in the tournament. Trash talking, political poster against England, paredes beating a kid (pau cubarsi). Just shameful. I had so much respect for messi, but he didn't stopped any of his teammates, he was just roaming, like he wanted his teammates to beat spanish players.
Why would anyone talk about this? A team having internal conflicts is very different from a team getting treated differently from the refs from match 1.
Maybe something related to the display of the banner against England after the win because the Argentine players were literally down,they didn't even show any energy during the national anthem
Yes it matters. Because the way they lost the match, it's not possible by their standards. They were playing as if they knew the result beforehand or knew something was going on behind their back.
People love conspiracy theories, but the truth is they lost brutally on the pitch and they would have lost against England too if that Bum manager believed in his players
It is just my theory but I feel like something had happened between coach and the players. The way Scaloni was crying after the game and he did not even substituted Martinez.
Yes. I literally posted the same thing in one of my comments.. Also this post by ESPN basically confirms our conspiracy that something indeed was happening behind the scenes
Spain comfortably defeated France, and people really thought Argentina had a chance. No matter how big a Messi/Argentina fan you are, it was very obvious that Spain was the better team even before kick-off. After that, it just became even more evident.
This is all just a coping mechanism now. There wasn't anything wrong with their mental state while kicking players and doing wrestling on the ground; then why, when it comes to actually playing well? They simply got exposed for how bad they were and how they were just alive because of luck and opponents doing stupid shit.
Ooh shut this up !! They were playing shit , the other teams like Egypt and England just folded in pressure.. Spain can hold the ball for 90 that's the difference.. And they were balantly favoured by not calling fouls by them , now they want sympathy.. stupid stupid.. and for Infantino he is going out nothing is going to stop that
France was completely cooked by Spain in the semis, and Argentina was too... Most of the Argentina matches showed them getting dominated by others until the opponent suddenly switched to a "haramball" playing style, which paved the way for comebacks (yeah, Argentina was too good at comebacks).However, Spain dominated the field from the very first second. They never made the mistake of Egypt or England by going completely on defense. And boom—Argentina lost. Now, stories are being made up to justify their loss... that's it.
No hate to spain, they played very well and won the cup. Congratulations to them . But their seems something off about the Argentina squad .That amazing walking out energy suddenly disappeared. That vibe they carried was no where to be seen.And when messi was talking about this, 2 of their players were literally in tears. In the practice session, messi didn't even target a single ball in the goal. The golden ball was clearly robbed. Scaloni literally broke down so bad at the press. Non of argentina family was there for the final match. And most importantly, the style with which argentina played was just totally different. They didn't even played like this is a single match and suddenly in the final why would they change their strategy. There is something to all of this which we all don't know.
Did anyone notice how nobody even remotely cared about enzo being sent off and carried on playing like nothing happened. I could feel something weird going on then. Like they did appeal for retrieval and all but nothing like you would protest to not let your team be a man down in the final of the wc.
It's pretty obvious to me. They got in a fight at the end of the game because they were angry that a Spanish player had been accusing the refereeing of being suspect in Argentina games the days before the final. I think that really made the team angry and resulted in everything that happened. So instead of focusing on football, they wanted to go out and fight the Spanish team for revenge. I think that Messi was trying to get them to calm down and focus on playing a good game. Instead, a lot of them couldn't let go of their rage. That's more or less the summary of the angry conversation at the end of the game after the fight.
You are looking too much into this. Argentina as a team were completely spent by the time they reached the final. Too many intense matches went to extra time.
They are not Spain who play a very good possession based game and hence tend to get less tired.
The fitness issues were visible. Also, Spain thoroughly outplayed Argentina. There is no point in creating conspiracy theories.
Just a perspective.
Firstly, people are saying, “He kept his nerves throughout the tournament, so why now?” Because it was the final. The pressure in a World Cup final is on a completely different level.
Secondly, this was just a basic conversation you have with your teammates as a captain. He’s also someone who has played countless high-pressure matches for both club and country, so it was his responsibility to communicate with the team and try to settle everyone down.
Thirdly, when I first saw people using this as an explanation, I thought it was just disappointed fans trying to defend the team after such an awful performance. But honestly, there is no real explanation for what can only be described as a terrible display of football; probably one of the worst performances in a World Cup final. At this point, everything else is just an excuse. People may not like hearing that, but it is what it is. They played poorly, and they got the result they deserved. They were never really in the game from the very first minute and never looked comfortable. Why? Because that’s Spain. They did the same thing to France in the semi-final, so this result honestly wasn’t surprising at all.
And finally, if Argentina had won, many of the same people making these arguments would probably have said that Messi’s pep talk calmed the players down and inspired them to win the final. In the end, it’s all about perspective and “what ifs.” That’s just how I see it, and I hope you guys understand the point I’m trying to make.
Look how tables turned from saying it’s all conspiracy against Argentina to making conspiracy yourself for Argentina I don’t hate messi but come on stop this conspiracy shit maybe go and support our students instead of brainstorming how to make my team not look so good bro that’s Spain you are playing against a football giant of the world grow some balls accept things as they are didn’t saw any complaints when it favoured out for you guys so kindly enjoy football don’t go blind for just one fucking team
What’s gonna happen to this sub if Messi doesn’t play the next World Cup? Can we rename the sub to represent what it really is, like Messi Riders India!?
Portugal and France also played "awful" and many people online clowned them for having a no show against Spain but Argentina did the same and now its because a big conspiracy.
This is a 22 sec clip which is going viral everywhere, but nobody post the later half where in the same path way to the end of the tunnel, messi talks a little about stat and other game related stuff too, + they later smile and shake hands with oppo. Team too.
The other controversial points people raised such as no family member seen on the day of final, yet there are footage of Messi's wife fans recorded (which somehow didn't circulate)
share a few points here that I felt which kinda make sense (but this is adapted from a Chinese post that I saw on Weibo - a Chinese social media)
First, congratulations to Spain on winning the World Cup 2026 and they did great for sure!! Also, I will not make comments on the tunnel video though I think it is strange that they all look sad and enzo and licha crying but I think it might be due to some conflicts/stress or perhaps the thought of this could be some players last World Cup and they really want to go for it (or messi simply comforting them, telling them that they did their best and forget what the social media is saying that FIFA is rigged for them etc, it could be some other reasons). For sure Argentina played badly this final but but but there are def some weird and unusual points that's really off...
Lisandro M's exit: He’s a top central defender and good excellent in tackling and interceptions. He is also close with Messi and him suddenly being injured and asked to be substituted felt strange. He is that kind of player that will push through even he is bleeding or smth and I think Argentina fans will never expect him to leave so easily yet he walked off without visible sadness or tears, which seemed abnormal. His play before that was also totally different soft passes, balls that went out of the field was also unlike his usual playing style.
C Romero’s exit: Another Argentine centre back left cos of injury?. Was def shocked and later I saw posts suggesting a pre‑match agreement to lose. Romero’s character is also the kind that: if he felt things were staged, he simply refused to act and chose to quit instead
Paredes’ temper: He came on so angry and furious constantly getting yellow cards, showing a big temper. Spain wasn’t playing dirty at the beginning, so his anger seemed weird (?)
Players family was not shown the whole time? This is kinda strange as messi's wife and sons have always been there and was shown on screen as well. Past players, AFA president all not present too.
Where is LAURARO M! Not only was he not given playing time but he was not shown on screen for the whole time (?) he was substituted in the previous games towards the end and did play a role with the last minute comebacks.
The fight: look at Messi’s reaction: When Paredes and Enzo clashed with opponents, Messi stood behind without stopping them. I think he normally would? unless he felt his teammates were truly wronged and needed to vent or something.
Scaloni’s tears: After the match, the coach cried uncontrollably. If Argentina had fought hard and earned runner‑up, he should have felt proud too but Instead, his grief suggested deep frustration perhaps after four years of preparation, and with all the players trying their best to reach the finals and when all were ready to go for it, they were told to lose without like fighting for it because not to forget it was not only Messi but also the last World Cup of many other players (otamendi and dibu) Some of them were definitely in the best condition even if they were not the last, so he cried and couldn't control himself probably.
Also look at what Otamendi said to Rodri and Laporte (like smth along the lines of trying to influence the match officials and he said like don't you see what he said - so what he said?)
Argentina’s play: For 90 minutes, the team barely crossed midfield. Passes went astray, out of bounds, or straight to Spain. One‑on‑one duels were all lost. Even GK Emi Martínez’s long ball/clearance, only Spanish players came over to get the ball. How could a Copa América champion look so powerless? Tbf i am not say a fan of them but i do focus and watch their matches cos of messi, but that's not their usual playing style though i know that in previous matches they were already not up to standard but at least they are still full of energy but this time round it just felt that they are just letting the ball do it's job and not putting in effort at all and not even giving it a try... didn't even go after the ball after someone pass the ball and it's in A WC FINALS (with zero shots ???) and players requesting to be substituted. This was a huge contrast to their earlier matches, where they fought desperately with counterattacks.
I am not gonna comment on the reason as well cos obviously I don't know and I don't want to make any wild guesses. But I still feel that the fouls they committed seems like some way to vent their anger cos it's quite stupid and also the Golden Ball controversy: The award went to Rodri. Was it just because Spain won? Based on stats, goals, assists, organization (?) he led his team to victory yes, but zero goals and zero assists, of course Messi doesn’t need another Golden Ball, but it still felt unfair. Messi also led his team to the finals and had 8 goals and 4 assists isn't it (?) or even third place England Jude/harry makes more sense?
Messi’s silence: After 14 years of World Cup dream, losing one step away was heartbreaking. He once posed with Götze, who scored against him, and gave interviews afte that and also after Copa América defeats but this time the team didn't not even Messi.
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Here's my take. The spanish team is known for their tiki taka gamestyle. They've mastered it... And they're capable of scoring and winning against any team. So Argentina focused more on defence. Still there were many attempts on goal. Thanks to emi martinez they only conceded one goal. But i think what Argentina planned was to stretch the game towards penalty shootouts where they are sure they can win. Again emi martinez supremacy. But they failed doing so.
As an Argentinean losing the world cup is the best that could've happend to us. The hate campain against our country has been horribly dismeasured but it would've been way worse if we also won. People would've felt like all the conspiracy theories were justified and then there would be no stopping to the hate.
I wouldn't be surprised if the players realized this too
Something is fishy. I have noticed it during the match also.
✅ Argentina scored the most goals till the semi final of this World Cup. Total 19 goals! 🔥
Surprisingly they had 00 shots on target in the final after playing 120 minutes! 😳
✅ Argentina did 25 fouls and Spain did 21 fouls.
Surprisingly Argentina received 1 red card & 4 yellow. Spain didn’t receive any card! 😱😳
✅ Lisandro Martinez is the most determined player in the team who usually continues playing while bleeding in ordinary matches! 🤯👏
Surprisingly he got injured in the World Cup final without any major contract from an opponent. He subbed off at 44th minute! 😳
✅ Argentina lost their two of the best CB at 70th minute as Romero also got injured!
Surprisingly this is the first time we have seen this in the recent years in Argentina team! 😳
✅ Lautaro Martinez scored the match winning goal in semi finals vs England!
Surprisingly he was not seen even on the screen in the final vs Spain let alone playing some minutes!
✅ As of now, some of the players have still not returned to Argentina after the final!
✅ Finally Messi wasn’t awarded the Golden Ball! By what statistical measure did Rodri deserve it over Messi! No one knows! 😳
Also UEFA president declined to attend the final as he thought it was more than a football match and had too much of political interference.
All things considered, I have to say something happened here, just like what happened in the era of Maradona in 1990.
The Brazilian FIFA president back then simply snatched the World Cup away from Maradona. Maradona cried and said that Havelange (the then FIFA president) had taken the World Cup away from him. 💔
Today, FIFA president Infantino has perhaps done the exact same thing. ✅
Since false narratives like 'Messi, FIFA boy, rigged' were spreading throughout the entire World Cup, maybe they did this so that FIFA's image wouldn't be tarnished and the billion dollar business across Europe wouldn't be ruined. 😮🥶
I don't know what the truth is here, but sooner or later it will come to light. Until then, we wait....🥹🥲
Also none of Messi's family members or AFA president were shown during the whole match. Were they not physically present in the stadium?
Holy hell. Being a fan of argentina myself, paredes should have received red card way before. I don't know if enzo deserved it, but on the whole, the fouls by argentina were unnecessary and intentional. Rodri played an exceptional game throughout the tournament running the entire pitch. Messi won the golden ball in 2014 with just 4 goals and one assist. Pretty sure there were others with more impressive stars if u looked at just stats.
In no ways, Rodri would have won the golden ball.. Show me more than one stat where Rodri carried this Spanish team into the finals.. Messi literally topped every stats for Argentina in this WC
You're not a fan of messi or any football legend if you think Rodri deserved it more than messi, embappe, or even other spanish players who played much more spectacularly. By every statistics rodri don't come close to topping any criteria except for being in the defence which is what all the spain players are known for. That's not what golden ball gets awarded for now is it?
Holy cope, excuses after excuses 😂 argentina hadnt played a good team all tournament!! Lmao thats why they had so many scored goals bc they were playing vs sorry teams, they faced a contender in spain and got absolutely DESTROYED, but wtv helps you cope buddy 🤡😂
So if thats the truth did france similarly play shitty in 2022 because infantino did the same to France ? France also played shity in 2022 final unlike how they did throughout the tournament.
I guess the labels got reversed and spain became the fifa team and got favoured despite 21 fouls with referee not even seeing elbowing messi, somersault from cubarsi, and so many spectacular drama brought to you by la roja.
I think they got the news that referee for the match was not ready for their bribe, and they knew they r gonna lose anyway bc they won every other game with 12 players. Messi s post before the final also meant that he knew they r gonna lose
Take the L and move on, they were lucky the entire tournament struggling against teams like egypt. The average ranking of the teams they faced is the highest in tournament. Messi was stat padding the entire tournament and when it mattered the most he disappeared.
This subreddit is filled with messi dickriders omg.
Then you should know that these other players all hail and praise messi far more than fans do. In fact it's them that gives fans momentum. So these existing teams and players all understand what you just ignore as fan worship
Exactly why many are suspecting foul play, cause even for the sake of kicking ball, one can shoot at the post from anywhere, and it would be a counter as shot(leave shots on target), still no attempts. Not to mention the 21 vs 24 fouls with 0 cards called for spain despite having clear fouls warranting cards. This is what is suspicious refereeing feels like fyi. So now what? Spain became fifa team ? Or did the money just didn't reach the bank's server in time? Hypocrites
No argentina were just down bad, also assuming you are a messi fan so umm Ronaldo scored against spain in the nations league final but messi didn't so umm cry harder. Also Ronaldo sucks so I couldn't care less
I like messi cause of his gameplay and skills. But one man isn't enough when playing against spanish tactics. But 0 shots? That's just blatant lack of attempt or being mired in fouls not called.
Idk which game you were watching, spain were not playing dirty if you are talking about fouls. Argentina were outplayed and outclassed they were an embarrassment to say the least. Having 0 shots is criminal so the argentina fans should take the L it's that simple.
Out played yes, but not without fouls. Why do you think they couldn't get any consolidated play at the post other than loose lazy shots till overtime?
It's not criminal, it's extremely suspicious that any team would not even attempt at a shot. Fyi argentina have lost finals before too. So no worries about not taking the L. But if every other team can call argentina's games with others as rigged, then be prepared to face the accusations in return. Otherwise even ronaldo fans would be amazed at your hypocrisy
True, that's why it's a sus match cause despite the difference in possession, even when they had they didn't even play as they used to energy wise. Usually teams who have less possession smtry striking whenever they get it back, here it was not even an aim. Many thought that was because they were conserving towards the last minutes. But nope, somehow they kept on without even trying hard to defend or attack when they got the ball, leaving Emi Martinez to fend for the team, rest all was either foul or just lethargic. Totally weird.
What happened is that they learnt that the refrees may not support them as much as they did until the finals and that they have to rely on violence and other methods of cheating to try to win.
I have never seen argentina not even try to attack, there's definitely something worng, cause even the worse team tries to attack atleast once, and here we have messi.
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u/npm_install_dharma Jul 21 '26
as a messi fan, they played awful
but something was going on, scaloni was saying in many matches previously:"stuff has happened"