Soccer 1- Thugs 0: Argentina has become the most hated team in the world.

Yesterday, Sunday, after the 1-0 overtime loss to Spain in the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the violent and unsportsmanlike behavior of the Argentina national team players raised a wave of anger in the international media, forcing the French network “RMC” to ask a shocking question.

The network featured in a lengthy report after Argentina’s players reacted so badly and violently to their defeat in the final that stunned the soccer world, which had already been surprised by the lenient treatment shown to them by referees throughout the tournament, despite their strong and violent style.

At the final whistle, Nahuel Molina unprovokedly punched Rodri in the chest as he ran to celebrate with the fans. Leandro Paredes then joined him and, assisted by Thiago Almada, hit Erik Garcia and Gavi, Argentina’s Roberto Ayala slapped Dani Olmo and Nicolas Otamendi verbally abused Rodri.

The violence was followed by completely inappropriate behavior when the entire Argentine delegation turned their backs on the Copa del Rey procession and instead waved to their fans in a scene described as “pitiful” and “unfortunate” by the international media.

In a widely circulated segment, the Spanish program El Chiringito condemns Argentina’s “miserable” image, with one of the program’s journalists describing it as “unfortunate”, claiming:

In Italy, “La Gazzetta dello Sport” newspaper condemned the “disgraceful” behavior of Leandro Paredes because of his “temper”. As for England, who lost 2-1 to Argentina in the semi-final, it went further as the Daily Telegraph headlined: “Spain wins the World Cup thanks to football’s triumph over Argentina’s embarrassment,” adding: “Football 1, Deviants 0.”

The British “The Times” newspaper confirmed. “Spanish style overcame Argentina madness”, in a statement that epitomized the state of disbelief that has surrounded the 2022 world champions in recent weeks amid conspiracy theories about alleged fraud at the FIFA tournament.

Above all, the leniency of the referees, despite the violent methods used by Lionel Messi’s teammates, caused deep resentment, especially after numerous unpunished fouls against England in the semi-final, which led to a strong feeling of rejection and hatred towards Lionel Scaloni’s men, a coach who was more calm and balanced than some of the players.

This “extreme hatred” did not escape the attention of the Argentine press, as the newspaper “Pajena/12” strongly condemned it and wrote in its analytical article two days before the final match:

The Argentinian newspaper added: “During the World Cup, millions of people flocked to electronic platforms to support the most imperialist and genocidal countries imaginable, only for Argentina not to win, even those that were their colonies. This is the record of this bog of artificial hatred against Argentina.”

“Thousands of videos and millions of views, tweets and comments have created a veritable swamp where people from all over the world come together, united by one feeling. “Argentina is an evil and racist country that any sane person hates, and that was evident against England.”