Carried or crowned? Argentina’s road to the final is football’s hottest debate
By Breaking Belize News Staff: Argentina stands one win from back to back World Cup titles, but a growing chorus of fans and pundits around the world is asking an uncomfortable question: did they get there on merit, or with a little help? The suspicion is rooted in a pattern. In the knockout rounds Argentina […] The post Carried or crowned? Argentina’s road to the final is football’s hottest debate appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
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By Breaking Belize News Staff: Argentina stands one win from back to back World Cup titles, but a growing chorus of fans and pundits around the world is asking an uncomfortable question: did they get there on merit, or with a little help?
The suspicion is rooted in a pattern. In the knockout rounds Argentina has repeatedly fallen behind, scored late, and left opponents raging at the officials. According to reporting from international outlets including BBC Sport, Reuters and ESPN, they came back from 2-0 down to eliminate Egypt, then broke English hearts with two goals in the final five minutes of the semifinal.
The Egypt match is where the conspiracy talk caught fire. VAR ruled out what would have been a second Egyptian goal, a late penalty appeal involving Mohamed Salah was waved away, and Argentina snatched the win in stoppage time. Egypt reportedly filed a formal complaint afterward, accusing FIFA of protecting its commercial interests. Jose Mourinho was widely quoted describing the officiating as daylight robbery.
Critics point to other moments too. Lionel Messi escaped punishment for a challenge that many compared with the one that earned United States forward Folarin Balogun a red card against Bosnia. And FIFA president Gianni Infantino raised eyebrows when he reportedly said he had suffered with Argentina during their win over Cape Verde, before insisting that he remains neutral.
To be clear, no evidence of any fix has been produced, and analysts note that most of the disputed decisions were debatable rather than outrageous. Argentina remains the defending champion, stacked with elite talent and led by the greatest player of his generation. Late comebacks are what great teams do.
The problem for FIFA is its own history. An organization that has spent decades collecting corruption scandals, including the 2015 arrests of top officials and the banning of its former leadership, does not get the benefit of the doubt on a tight VAR call. Every close decision that falls the way of the tournament’s biggest star ends up looking, fairly or not, like a thumb on the scale. Similar complaints followed Argentina’s 2022 triumph in Qatar, and they still had to win that final on the pitch.
So ahead of Sunday’s showdown with Spain at MetLife Stadium, we are asking our readers to be the judge. Is Argentina being carried to the trophy, or is this simply what champions look like under pressure? Share your verdict in the comments.
The post Carried or crowned? Argentina’s road to the final is football’s hottest debate appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
