"Good riddance to bad rubbish": Argentina lose the World Cup Final

[True Believer]

To Argentine footballers, playing dirty is not seen as a moral failing; it is seen as being street smart. Elbowing, tactical fouls and fierce tackles are seen as sacrifice for the country. To win the World Cup, they internalised the belief that they must out-fight, out-hustle and physically intimidate opponents to win the game. In Argentina, outsmarting the referee or bending the rules to gain an advantage like Maradona's "Hand of God" goal for example are celebrated as intelligence, and not condemned as cheating. If an opponent allows themselves to be provoked or tricked, the fault lies with the opponent for being naive. England seem to always fall into the Argentine's trap.

 

[True Believer]

In the 2022 World Cup, FIFA banned 4 players from Uruguay for violent conduct when they aggressively confronted the German referee. I would love to see Argentina banned from the next World Cup for their racism, violence and cheating throughout the 2026 tournament.