FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 - DISCUSSION AND WATCHALONG THREAD ⚽️. Part 10

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Carrying on from the last thread. https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/world-cup-2026/5556172-fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-and-watchalong-thread-part-9

And the French don’t give a F. They’d just go shrug.

All they did was look a bit dejected and instantly took their medals off, which anyone who regularly watches football knows is pretty normal behaviour for losing teams.

A world away from physically assaulting opponents. Argentina really are something else.

Yep.

South American teams in general are known for thuggish behaviour on the pitch. But there's an edge of racism, arrogance and general obnoxiousness which makes Argentina unique.

Oh god random Everton chat from BBC politics in Carney and Burnham both being toffee

Nico Williams played brilliantly in the final.

He did. That backwards header he did to allow Ferran to score was absolutely brilliant! I'm so pleased Spain won. They were verbally abused and physically assaulted by the disgraceful, cheating, petulant and bitter Argentines and they played with real skill and class. It was really great to see the bad guys lose, for a change, and the good guys win. I'm sickened that Argentina's foul tactics got them as far as the world cup final, but they were utterly out-classed in it, which was the best result of all. Viva España!

And well done to the England rugby team on Saturday night too, who beat an equally abusive and thuggish Argentinian rugby team.

OK @Lalgarh I have to ask, what do you mean by 'toffee'?

This World Cup (well the late stages) is the first time in my lifetime I've been even slightly interested in football outcomes. I can't think what came over me.

Even watched the whole thing last night, although it did drag a bit. I would agree that Argentina seemed to behave very badly. The Spanish players were lovely 😊 and more talented too, and very patient and well behaved.

Toffee is Everton.

Aww Kevin Keegan has died

I've heard the aggressive type of South American play excused because it's 'passion', maybe thuggery doesn't exist in their vocabulary although a lot of Sounth Americans loath Argentina

And well done to the England rugby team on Saturday night too, who beat an equally abusive and thuggish Argentinian rugby team.

They tried to cheat in that too claining that they had scored a try in the dying seconds which would have drawn the match when they clearly didn't.
Referring to their scruffy banner in the semi the Royal Marines have asked if it was the same sheet that flew over Stanley but with no writing on it then!

I remember reading a piece, probably in the Guardian, many years ago (perhaps around the Hand Of God era) about England v Argentina, which claimed that, ironically, Argentina had always been the most Anglophile of South American countries, and called Jorge Luis Borges as evidence of this. Borges was certainly an Anglophile, but whether the broader case has much truth in it, I wouldn't know.

I don't even like rugby but that's hilarious. They seem to like finishing in second, don't they? Yesterday, Saturday, the Falklands war...

Bit of a contrast with Mexico who by all accounts as soon as the whistle blew on what was a desperately hard fought game in their home stadium, went back to being welcoming hosts and fellow fans.

That's very sad news 😔

Ah Kev RIP

Well thug in Spanish is maton

Apparently according to fifa disciplinary rules any team that accumulates five or more individual cards during a single match faces an automatic fine for failing to control its players.

Paredes apparently has been violent in matches before. Temper temper.

that is very sad

You cannot be seriously be comparing the two.....the Argentine players are violent thugs

Being violent in a match is bad enough. Being violent after a match is just psycho.

Is there something in the water in Argentina? Where is this behaviour coming from?

The excuse I've heard is that a lot of South American players come from rough neighbourhoods, so getting an advantage by any means possible is seen as admirable. Seems like a pretty poor excuse, since many footballers all over the world come from tough backgrounds.

I think a lot of other South Americans hate Argentina because they are considered arrogant and consider themselves 'better' than other countries in the region because they are 'more European'. I was chatting with a colleague from Chile the other day and he was very much 'anyone but Argentina'.

And WTF was that shit half-time show? Madonna lip-syncing a 25-year-old song and dancing in a tunnel, drippy Justin Bieber with a soppy ballad, a Korean boy band with a song I'd never heard - I went to fold the washing after that.

I loved Wayne Rooney's response when Gabby Logan asked him his favourite bit and he said: 'I thought it was crap, the best bit was when it finished' 😂 Brilliant! You can always count on him to be brutally honest and say what everyone else is thinking.

You can take the man out of Liverpool...