It is puzzling that the Argentina Football Association, its national team, as well as its erring, violent players and assistant coaches who are thugs masquerading as footballers have not yet received any punishment until now from FIFA regarding their disgraceful behaviour after being beaten outsmarted by Spain in the 2026 World Cup final match in the United States of America.
I don’t care what FIFA says, but my unapologetic opinion is that Argentina has committed the worst ever crime related to FIFA as an organisation and football in general the world over.
What Argentina did has brought FIFA into disrepute and the highest form of punishment in terms of FIFA rules must be invoked.
Even if it is a life-ban on the individuals involved, and a ban from the next World Cup in 2030, such a punishment would be greeted with joy by many peace-loving football supporters the world over.
Argentina’s coaches and/or assistant coaches and some players took part in beating up some of the members of the victorious Spanish team; pushing them to the ground; hitting them with fists and elbows and swearing at them.
Contrary to what many ignorant soccer-loving people didn’t know, Argentina knew all along that should fate deal them a bad hand by putting them in a situation where they would have to play against Spain at any stage of the tournament, including the cup final match, they won’t stand a chance at all against the Spainish La Roja!
Argentina hates playing against Spain because the Spanish lads, with their crafty, nimble-footed and talent-inspired, team-work kind of play always expose their (Argentina’s) skop-skiet-en-donner, unskillful, rough play-inspired and Messi-centred kind of play.
Argentina knows that playing against Spain always leads to soccer fans concluding that they are watching the proverbial “Beauty and the Beast,” with Argentina being the obvious ugly beast in this case.
That is why Argentina never made any attempts to play football during the World Cup final match but resorted to using rough-tackles during and after the final match.
The Argentina team knew all along that they were beaten before the World Cup final match could even start as they were facing a much superior team in the form of Spain in terms of skill.
One could see right from the beginning of the match that Spain was not bothered at all by the presence of Messi in the cup final match because they knew that they as Spain were more skilful than the combined Argentina team.
They knew that Argentina would defend, but at the same time knew that Argentina will not be able to defend for the whole duration of the match.
That is why Argentina eventually capitulated and was compelled to allow Spain to score via a volley that hugged the roof of the net courtesy of Ferran Torres in the 106th minute
I had written in this Armchair Critic column just before the World Cup final match between the two teams that Argentina was going to face a relentless 90- minute total onslaught from Spain, which is something Argentina had not experienced up until then in the tournament.
Argentina always won its 2026 World Cup tournament games because teams playing against it (including England ) always resorted to defensive play after taking the lead against Argentina, thus allowing a series of so-called “come-back miracles” by Messi and Argentina.
Now like the erstwhile Brazilian team of 1958 and 1962, the reigning Spanish World Cup heroes will retain the trophy once again wherever the 2030 World Cup tournament will be played.
The success of the Spanish World Cup-winning team is based on the fact that they have a philosophy regarding the way they play; knowing what to do and why, and when to do that which is required of them.
This is in contrast to the way Pirates, Chiefs and Sundowns players are forced to play in the year 2026; using defensive- minded tactics in the midfield and relying on aimless diagonal crosses and not pin-point square passes which go to the foot or head of one’s teammate.
It is sad that coaches at Orlando Pirates, Sundowns and Chiefs have not learned how the Spanish national team plays football.
These coaches still believe in defensive tactics.
I rest my case!
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