REUTERS/Lee Smith
Argentina's Lionel Messi looks dejected after the loss to Spain in World Cup final
On Sunday, Argentina fell short in its quest to defend its World Cup crown with a loss to Spain. Lionel Messi and Co. were firmly outplayed in a game that was closer than it probably should have been, but the country’s president has still decided to honor them by declaring a national holiday.
The 2026 World Cup marked the debut of an expanded field that boasted 48 teams who earned the right to vie for soccer’s biggest prize. The format produced some unexpected upsets and Cinderella stories, but it ultimately led to a showdown between the countries that were respectively sitting in the first and second spots in the FIFA rankings when it kicked off: Argentina and Spain.
Argentina was hoping to join Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962) as the only nations to win back-to-back World Cups. There was also little doubt Lionel Messi was hoping to equal (or surpass) Kylian Mbappé at the top of the list of the tournament’s all-time goal scorers after the French phenom tied his record of 21 before breaking it with two tallies against England in the third-place game.
Spain, on the other hand, was angling for its second title (and its first since 2010) and looking to assert its dominance while entering a new era where Lamine Yamal is seemingly poised to make them a force to be reckoned with for the foreseeable future.
La Roja ultimately came out on top with a 1-0 victory, which was a seemingly inevitable result that wasn’t cemented until extra time despite a fairly dominant showing. Argentina didn’t really have much to celebrate after the loss, but that didn’t stop its president from rewarding the entire country.
Argentine president Javier Milei declared a national holiday in honor of the team that got dominated by Spain in the World Cup final
The 2026 World Cup Final will not exactly go down as a classic, as Spain earned the trophy by shutting down Argentina in a match where the latter was lucky to survive for as long as it did.
The Spaniards had possession for 65% of a game where they nearly doubled the number of passes Argentina completed, and they recorded 12 shots on goal (including Ferran Torres’ game-winner in the 106th-minute) before their opponents were able to get the only one they recorded during the contest.
Argentina also had to play the entirety of extra time down a man after Enzo Fernández received his second yellow card in stoppage time at the end of the second half. You could praise them for the ability to keep the score knotted at zero while trying to force penalty kicks, but that’s really the only accolade they earned in a game where the better team clearly won in the end.
Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, was not in attendance at the final on Sunday, as he cited superstition for his decision to watch it from the executive residence where he’d posted up for the seven wins that led up to the tilt with Spain.
The eighth time did not end up being the charm, and while Milei was undoubtedly one of the tens of millions of fans who were let down by the result, he nonetheless announced Argentina will be honoring the team with a national holiday, which will hinge on “what the players and the technical staff decide regarding the day to celebrate.”
FESTEJO MUNDIAL
Dada la inquietud sobre los festejos por el logro alcanzado por la Selección Argentina, comunico a la población que, en función de lo que decidan los Jugadores y el Cuerpo Técnico respecto al día para celebrar, el mismo será declararado feriado nacional.— Javier Milei (@JMilei) July 20, 2026
It’s certainly a bold decision, but it’s also one that may make a bit more sense when you consider Milei’s approval rating is currently hovering around 40%.