Deportes

Purists get sick to their stomachs.

The Spanish national team began preparing this Thursday for the World Cup final, which will see them face Messi’s Argentina on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. And they did so with Lamine Yamal and Pedro Porro on the sidelines during the initial rondos, an open space for the media.

The unrestrained action of Nicolás Otamendi and Giovani Lo Celso displaying a banner with the slogan “The Malvinas are Argentine” after winning the 2026 World Cup semifinals against England (1-2) has ignited the fuse of a tense diplomatic controversy between the two countries, which is on the path to flare up.

“It is a huge team, with great players, with skill… a team that I know very well,” praised Leo Messi about his next opponent in the World Cup final this Sunday at Metlife Stadium in New York/New Jersey. The Argentine star analyzed La Roja and did not hide his excitement about facing many of those who were his teammates during his long time at FC Barcelona, a club that he “always loves and follows,” he said in statements to FIFA after being named MVP of the semifinal against England.

The first time Leo Messi played in a World Cup, back in 2006, Lamine Yamal was not even a life project yet. 20 years later, the two latest great idols of Barcelona will have the opportunity to meet on the pitch for the first and, presumably, last time, no less than in a World Cup final. The photo between the two main representatives of Argentina and Spain will be the most sought after for its exceptionality, but it will not be the first.

Thomas Tuchel is in the eye of the storm. England’s elimination at the hands of Argentina (1-2) in the World Cup semifinals has triggered a wave of criticism in English football. Former internationals, analysts, and media all agree in pointing to the German coach’s ultra-defensive approach after the 1-0.

Despite the efforts of the Argentine coach, Lionel Scaloni, to separate the football match from politics, some of the Albiceleste players celebrated the victory against England by displaying a banner that read: The Malvinas are Argentine, a sovereignty claim and a symbolic burden that marked the qualifier.

Rarely has such a thunderous “goool” been heard in my Barcelona neighborhood as the two from last night. Argentina will be in the final thanks to eight final minutes of madness, a positive event for football and adverse to Spain’s interests because it is hard to put the finishing touch…

Before the first World Cup semifinal, it was easy to jump on the bandwagon of those who saw France as the favorite. No one underestimated Spain, far from it, but Deschamps’ team was the one leaving the best impressions in the tournament, without a doubt. Four top-level forwards placed them as the best attacking team. “We are facing the best team…”, De la Fuente began telling his players in the locker room, before they went out to warm up at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas. It was only a prelude to the message he wanted to convey, the concept that is leading him to success. “… But we are the best team,” he concluded to energize the players before attempting what would become an overwhelming storming of the Bastille. July 14 will also be a national holiday in Spain because it opened the way to fight for the red team’s second star.

The King will fulfill his promise and this Sunday will accompany the players of the Spanish national football team who are seeking the second championship star to join the one they won in 2010 at the World Cup in South Africa. But he will not go alone, as Queen Letizia, Princess Leonor, and Infanta Sofía will also travel to New York to attend the match that will be held at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.