Why the world suddenly wants Argentina to lose
I knew Argentina had truly arrived when soccer fans stopped talking about Lionel Messi and started talking about referees.
For years, the soccer world wanted Argentina to win.
More precisely, it wanted Messi to win.
That resolution matters.
For nearly two decades, Messi was a tragic football hero. He dazzled Barcelona fans every week, won every trophy imaginable and rewrote the record books, yet one criticism dogged him everywhere: he never won a World Cup with Argentina.
Each defeat only strengthened the myth. Argentina’s success turned them from soccer favorites to global villains overnight. (Photo: Reuters)
When Argentina lost the 2014 World Cup final to Germany, neutrals sympathized with Messi. When they lost back-to-back Copa America finals in 2015 and 2016, the sympathy only grew. When Messi briefly retired from international football after the second defeat, even opposition fans begged him to return.
The world loved Messi because he looked cursed. The world loved Argentina as it seemed destined to stumble at the final hurdle.
Then Argentina started winning.
The Copa America arrived in 2021. The Finalissima followed in 2022. Then came Qatar and millions of people at the World Cup were eager to see Messi lift.
The fairy tale was complete.
And that’s when the mood started to change.
FROM HEROES TO VILLAINS
Football loves redemption stories.
What he tries to embrace is lasting success.
The evidence is everywhere.
The same fans who mocked Argentina for years for losing the final are now complaining that they are winning too much. The same people who were desperate for Messi to finish football now seem just as desperate for Argentina to be eliminated.
Somewhere along the way, Argentina went from being soccer’s favorite underdogs to soccer’s favorite villains.
The funny thing is that very little has actually changed.
The players are still extremely talented. The supporters are still passionate. Their football remains emotional, chaotic and endlessly dramatic.
What changed was the trophy cabinet.
Since Qatar, almost every major victory for Argentina has been asterisked by critics.
The World Cup itself remains the clearest example.
Argentina won seven games in Qatar. They comfortably eliminated Croatia in the semi-finals before defeating France in one of the greatest World Cup finals ever played.
Yet a staggering number of football fans emerged from the tournament convinced that the competition was somehow designed to help Messi win.
Penalties awarded to Argentina have become a global obsession. Social networks full of “Pessi” jokes. Each referee’s decision was scrutinized frame by frame. Each VAR intervention became new evidence of a grand conspiracy. The refereeing conspiracy only followed Argentina after they started winning trophies consistently. (Photo: Reuters)
The odd thing was that Argentina were hardly the first team to benefit from penalties at a major tournament.
Nor were they the first champions to receive favorable decisions.
Football history is full of controversial moments. England’s 1966 triumph is still debated over Geoff Hurst’s famous ‘Wembley Goal’, with many insisting the ball never quite crossed the line. Argentina supporters still feel aggrieved by the penalty awarded to West Germany in the 1990 World Cup final and the dismissal of Pedro Monzon, decisions which many believe shaped the outcome. Spain, France, Germany and Italy have controversial moments associated with victories in major tournaments.
Yet Argentina’s achievements are seen as uniquely suspect.
It often seems that many people have already reached a conclusion and are just looking for evidence to support it.
WHY ARGENTINA DIVIDES OPINION
No footballer exemplifies this better than Emiliano Martinez.
Martinez is provocative. He speaks. He sneers. He celebrates. He takes on the role of a football villain.
Yet the sport has spent decades celebrating larger-than-life personalities.
Eric Cantona has become an icon. Jose Mourinho has built an entire career on mind games. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has turned supreme confidence into an art form.
But Martinez often attracts outrage that seems wildly disproportionate.
For some reason, when others do it, it’s called charisma.
When an Argentine does that, it becomes a controversy. Argentina’s passion is criticized, while similar behavior elsewhere is admired instead. (Photo: Reuters)
The same pattern appears over and over again.
Argentine passion becomes aggression. Their self-confidence becomes arrogance. Their game becomes a moral crisis.
Meanwhile, similar behavior by other soccer powers is routinely dismissed as part of top sport.
None of this suggests that Argentina is beyond criticism.
Far from it.
The ugly fallout from the 2024 Copa America celebrations deserved every little bit it got. Several Argentina players, including Enzo Fernandez, were filmed singing the chant, which French players and the French Football Federation condemned as racist and discriminatory. The controversy rightly caused widespread outrage and prompted an investigation.
Criticism in this case was not only justified, but also necessary.
But there is an important difference between holding individuals responsible for a particular incident and using that episode to define an entire football team, fan base or football culture.
THE PRICE OF BEING CHAMPIONS
Perhaps the greatest irony is that soccer fans have spent years clamoring for exactly this version of Argentina.
They wanted Messi to win.
They wanted Argentina back among football’s elite.
They wanted South American football to once again challenge European dominance.
Well, they got exactly what they wished for.
Argentina is the world champion. They have reclaimed their place among football’s dominant powerhouses. Every tournament now starts with Argentina firmly among the favourites.
And suddenly many people find this reality uncomfortable.
Maybe it’s because Argentina keeps ruining everyone else’s story.
England want to end a decade of grief. France wants another golden generation. Spain wants to build a new dynasty.
Before each of these dreams stands Argentina.
Champions inevitably become obstacles rather than dreamers.
Football almost always favors dreamers.
That’s why enmity doesn’t bother me anymore, die-hard Argentina fan, just like he used to be.
No one spends hours debating a team they don’t fear.
No one makes up conspiracy theories about a team they expect to lose.
No one passionately opposes a side unless they believe they have a real chance of lifting the trophy. Messi’s triumph at the World Cup changed the soccer world’s view of Argentina forever. (Photo: Reuters)
Memes, accusations, refereeing debates and endless online outrage are not signs of irrelevance.
They are signs of importance.
For years, Argentina has been the tragic romance of soccer.
They are the champions now.
The world loved Argentina when it suffered. There was celebration when Messi finally reached the top.
But staying there is a different challenge altogether.
Romance ends.
The grudge begins.
That was always the price for becoming champions.
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– The end
Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
14 Jul 2026 07:00 IST