LAGOS JULY 25TH (NEWSRNAGERS)-Argentina’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign turned out to be one of the most controversial in the nation’s history.
Lionel Messi‘s side reached the final but suffered a 1-0 extra-time defeat to Spain, falling short of becoming just the third nation to win back-to-back World Cups.
Several aspects of Argentina’s run frustrated rival fans, including the team’s narrow victories, aggressive style of play, and the ugly post-match altercation that followed Spain’s extra-time victory in the final.
Many also accused FIFA and its officials of favoring Messi and Argentina by making decisions that benefited the South American side.
It wasn’t just fans who raised concerns. Egypt also filed a complaint demanding an official investigation into the refereeing decisions during its controversial 3-2 Round of 16 loss to Argentina.
Amid the controversy, some fans launched the “Argentina Out” petition, which gathered more than 23 million signatures from people across 170 countries and called for Argentina’s national team to receive a permanent ban from future World Cups.
Now, Argentina President Javier Milei has broken his silence on the controversy with a series of posts on Instagram, making it clear where he stands.
Argentina President Slams Critics
Backing his country while taking aim at the critics, Milei first shared a post that read:
“Do you have enemies? It means you once defended something. We defend Argentina.”
He followed it up with another message that said:
“The problem with Argentina is that we are conspicuous, we don’t go unnoticed, people are jealous of us, and we are good at almost everything.”
The criticism surrounding Argentina’s World Cup campaign appears to have only strengthened the sense of unity among many Argentinians.
Milei also shared an AI-generated image of himself ripping open his suit to reveal an Argentina jersey, accompanied by the caption:”Long live Argentina, damn it!”
Milei’s response came after Lionel Messi’s wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, who also weighed in on the controversy with a strongly worded message on social media.
Roccuzzo shared a post criticizing Argentina’s detractors.
“Proud to be Argentine. Argentina is exactly like a family; we may disagree and quarrel amongst ourselves, but if someone from outside comes and insults us, we will tear out their liver,” her instagram story read.
Athlon Sports
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