It initially went unnoticed, because the focus had to be on the losers and not the winners when Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic declared the end of the match at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. But the punch that Nahuel Molina, Atlético de Madrid player and Argentine full-back, delivered to Rodrigo Hernández was the trigger for the most bitter post-match in World Cup history.
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The Spanish midfielder, chosen as the best player of the tournament, wanted to ask for explanations about the blow he received from his opponent, when Eric García intervened to try to mediate in what happened. Leandro Paredes, a player who came close to being sent off with several actions during the match, needed no more to start a brawl that Lionel Scaloni, the Albiceleste coach, tried unsuccessfully to stop.
Gavi appeared like a freight train to defend his teammates and ended up on the ground shaken by Paredes himself and Thiago Almada, another of the red-and-white players in the Argentine delegation. Far from calming down, the brawl spread to other places and Roberto Ayala, a member of Argentina’s technical staff, was also seen hitting Dani Olmo.
The Argentine frustration shown earlier on the field through actions and fouls that earned them finishing the match with ten players, due to the expulsion of Enzo Fernández for a second yellow card, had multiplied in the post-match.
Despite this, the defeated still reproached the Spaniards, as Nicolás Otamendi did with Rodri, for having complained in the lead-up about the toughness they expected from the Argentines. “You were crying all week, you and Laporte, both of you,” the Albiceleste defender snapped at the stunned Spanish captain.
FIFA has announced the start of an investigation into these incidents that occurred post-match, especially those involving Paredes, Molina, and Ayala according to Sky Sports News. The sports organization will analyze the referee reports and match footage before deciding whether to impose sanctions.
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When the waters calmed, the trophy presentation ceremony began in which the Argentine team would pass through a Spanish corridor to receive their runner-up medals. Many members of the delegation, Messi among them, were flooded with tears.
However, when it was the champions’ turn, the Argentines, far from honoring a team that had defeated them masterfully during 120 minutes of intense struggle on the MetLife Stadium pitch, decided to turn their backs while the Spaniards lifted the World Cup with Rodrigo at the center of the photo and Donald Trump trying to stay in the celebration photo.
Scaloni’s Tears
Already in the press room, Lionel Scaloni, a coach who gave Messi his first and only World Cup in Qatar, broke down like no coach had ever done in a press conference. “I’m sorry, it hurts me in my soul,” he said before concluding a speech that he delivered with effort, holding back his emotions as best he could.
It was the saddest epilogue to Spain’s second star. A team that reduced all the teams it faced, including Argentina, which did not shoot on goal throughout the match. Frustration was what spoke during and after a final in which Spain provided the football.
