Last night, I was Spanish, and millions around the world | World Cup 2026

Last night, Spain beat Argentina to win the World Cup. Naturally, for those of us who have not joined any country, choosing who to help would be easy. We can choose the team that plays the most beautiful football, the player that we admire the most or the side that we like the colors of.

But this is no ordinary time.

Gaza and Palestine have changed the way many of us see the world. It has become a moral prism, challenging our judgments not only of governments and political leaders, but of institutions, universities, media, organizations and celebrities. We have seen people and institutions that we once respected protect their eyes from harming people. We have also seen others find a clear voice about merit and equality in the face of dangers that, elsewhere and against other people, they would have resisted without hesitation.

And we remember those who refused to look away.

That’s why, last night, I was Spanish.

Of course, a football team is not a government. Spanish football players are not responsible for the results of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, just like Lionel Messi and his teammates are responsible for the political decisions of Argentine President Javier Milei.

But sports have never lived in the politically sealed world we sometimes pretend to live in. We bring ourselves to the game. We bring our history, our identities, our empathy and, of course, our moral judgment. We choose who we want to win for reasons that often have little to do with design and statistics.

And so, for many people of conscience, Spain has always represented something great.

At a time when many Western political institutions have been diverted into cultural and linguistic conflicts in Gaza, Spain has isolated itself. Sánchez and his government have been willing to speak out in the absence of many of Spain’s white allies. Spain recognized the State of Palestine. Sánchez has openly used the word genocide to describe what is happening in Gaza. His government has imposed an arms embargo on Israel.

We do not have to agree with all the policies of the Spanish government to recognize the importance of that responsibility. Moral courage is measured precisely when taking responsibility has a high cost.

There was also something very touching about seeing Lamine Yamal, one of the brightest stars in world football, waving the Palestinian flag during Barcelona’s La Liga celebrations.

It was a small gesture in the vast area of ​​Palestinian suffering. But symbols are important, especially when so many powerful organizations have worked so hard to keep Palestine out of sight.

There was Yamal, at the victory rally, surrounded by celebration, carrying the flag of the people whose suffering on earth is repeatedly asked to forget. And last night he wore the colors of Spain in the final of the World Cup and became a world champion.

On the other side stood Argentina, the best soccer nation led by the greatest player of his generation. And here, too, Gaza intervened in the view that some of us see. Lionel Messi’s portrait on the Western Wall in East Jerusalem has gone viral. It begins with Barcelona’s 2013 visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, many years before the tragedy. But images live beyond their creation, and Gaza has changed the way many of us see them.

The contrast with Lamine Yamal is striking. There is a picture of Messi on the Western Wall. And there is a picture of Yamal, in one of the most exciting moments of his young career, waving a Palestinian flag. Different times, different situations, different goals.

But signs are important. For those whose view of the world has been changed by Gaza, it is impossible not to feel the emotional impact of the difference.

And beyond Messi to represent the politics of Javier Milei. The Argentine president has made it clear who he is. He has embraced US President Donald Trump and called himself the “Zionist president of the world” at a time when Palestinians in Gaza have faced unprecedented destruction.

Argentina’s football players have no responsibility for Milei, and his people cannot be demoted to their president. But those politics cannot be completely removed from the views that the rest of us watch with.

Then there was another recent vote, far from Gaza but revealing in its own way. In March, the United Nations General Assembly made a landmark resolution addressing the past crimes of human trafficking and enslavement of Africans and calling for retributive justice. One hundred and twenty-three states voted in favor. Seventy refused. Only three countries in the world voted against it: the United States, Israel and Argentina.

There is something wonderful about those connections. In the context of one of the greatest human crimes and the need for retributive justice, Trump’s America, Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israel and Milei’s Argentina found themselves standing together, almost alone.

It’s hard for those of us who look at the world through the lens of Gaza not to notice the scene. The issues are different, the history is different and the legal questions are different. But the moral instinct seems clear: when the victims of mass injustice demand recognition, accountability and redress, the same governments often seem to find reasons to stand on the other side.

So, yes, last night I watched a football game.

I admired Messi because greatness remains great. I was fascinated by the amazing history of Argentine football.

But I wanted Spain to win.

And Spain won.

Maybe this says something about what Gaza has done to us. It has also changed our morals. Countries that were once considered far away can suddenly become closer because they spoke up when others were silent. Governments that we never imagined would give us respect because, at a time when they were most tested, they refused to avert their gaze.

And sometimes good behavior goes to unexpected places.

Last night it spilled over the football field.

Millions celebrated Spain’s victory because they love Spanish football, because they admire Lamine Yamal or because their team has won the biggest prize in sports.

But many also celebrated for their solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The World Cup cannot do justice to Palestine. A Spanish victory will not feed a starving child in Gaza, rebuild a destroyed house or raise the dead. We must not confuse metaphor with justice.

But people live on the other side through symbols. And last night, for some of us, the Spanish red shirt had a meaning it was not meant to have.

When Lamine Yamal and his friends lifted the World Cup trophy, I celebrated with them.

Not because football can change what happened in Gaza.

But because Gaza has changed the way I see even football.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect Al Jazeera’s influence.