World Cup 2026: Argentina react to final defeat and Messi questions

Back on the pitch, the actions of the Argentina players were heavily criticised, with former England captain Alan Shearer saying: “Paredes threw two or three haymakers into someone’s face. He went for them. There is no place or space for that.

“We know how much it means to them and we know how much it hurts to lose, but there is a way to lose. Too many times we have seen that from Argentina. The reaction after the final whistle is terrible.”

Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart added: “The game’s done, they can have absolutely no complaints about what happened. Disgusting behaviour.”

Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni attempted to calm the situation down in his post-match interview and said: “We are gracious in victory, and we must be gracious in defeat,” he said. “Today, we are showing that we know how to lose.

“We lost the match, and we accept it, but that doesn’t mean we stop living or forget everything we did to get here.”

Argentina, the World Cup winners in 1978, 1986 and 2022, won their first seven matches in North America, beating Algeria, Austria, Jordan, Cape Verde, Egypt, Belgium and England before losing to Spain.

Against Egypt, Argentina were 2-0 down before scoring three late goals to win and in the semi-final with England, the Three Lions led 1-0 until the 85th minute before goals from Fernandez and a Lautaro Martinez header gave them a 2-1 win.

Several media outlets in Argentina have suggested the loss could mark the finish of Scaloni’s tenure as national team coach and called it the end of an era, with talisman Lionel Messi, in tears at the end, unlikely to play at another World Cup.

“The pain is immense, and this wound will take time to heal. But I also hold onto all the good things,” Messi wrote on social media.