“Whether it hurts whoever it hurts and no matter what they say, nobody gives us anything for free”. Leo Messi was happy in the mixed zone of Atlanta. The ’10’ of the albiceleste had provided two assists for his country’s comeback against England, a historic rival, in a football match turned psychological battle. “A minute of silence,” chanted the South Americans in the locker room, teasing the British. The Argentine celebration also served as a claim: “We are unique, and it is not arrogance”, declared Scaloni. Three days before the final, the Argentine team won, celebrated for 10 minutes on the pitch, lifted Messi on their shoulders, and arrived at the locker rooms euphoric.
The third final for Argentina in the last four World Cups centers on a Messi who wanted to raise his voice in the corridors that pass through the hundreds of journalists crowded in the mixed zone. He had several messages to give, on his way to his third final (tying Cafú) in the first match he played against England.
“Everything we experienced from the beginning was incredible. Although it was a football match, when we started entering with the anthem we felt special sensations. The group felt it. We knew it was not just another victory, it was important, the Argentine people wanted it, we did too, and it put us in another World Cup final. It’s crazy to play two World Cup finals in a row,” he told the media, showing his claws.
“This group does not surprise me, I knew what we were capable of. Maybe people had doubts about how we arrived, they questioned us because we came with players very close to their limits and with problems, but when this group comes together and is united, it always gives an extra,” he declared.
The ’10’ remembered Maradona, 40 years after Argentina’s 2-1 over England at the Azteca. “Without a doubt, Diego is enjoying it a lot from above because today was a very special day for him. Let him enjoy it because it’s a gift for him too,” he insisted, and about Spain he said “now it will be whatever God wants,” without further comments about his rival in the final.
“The Falklands are Argentine”
The Argentina squad celebrated their passage to the final waving a banner with the slogan ‘The Falklands are Argentine’, an action that could cost them a FIFA sanction, which has urged teams to avoid any kind of political message during matches. The IFAB establishes that “no kit should have political, religious slogans, personal statements or images,” and players are prohibited from showing such garments or objects. “The player or the team will be sanctioned by the competition organizer, the national football federation or FIFA,” the rule says. “Any material, including but not limited to banners, flags, leaflets, clothing and other paraphernalia, that is political, offensive or discriminatory in nature,” it adds.
The situation is being reviewed by Infantino’s organization, which may take precedents into account. In 2014, it already sanctioned Argentina with 26,000 euros for posing with a banner about the Falklands in a friendly, although it did not impose a sporting sanction. A decade later, in 2024, UEFA punished Rodri and Álvaro Morata with a one-match ban for singing “Gibraltar, Spanish,” during the Euro Cup celebration.
This Thursday the British government said it expects FIFA to open an investigation. During an interview with the BBC, the British Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Peter Kyle, stated that the footballers’ gesture “was totally inappropriate” and emphasized that “politics must be kept out of football.” “I hope FIFA carries out a thorough investigation,” Kyle declared.
Even more emotional was Lionel Scaloni, again speechless at first, for what his team had done. “This group never ceases to surprise me. It’s hard to try to make people understand what the players show…,” he expressed, moved, at pitchside. “We are unique, really, and it’s not arrogance, it’s from the heart. We are unique,” he insisted, and praised Messi: “He is incredible. I don’t know what he has to do to be recognized as the best of all time. Again we are in a final and we are because of and with him.”
