He must have seen the ticker tape, a group of men cavorting around an American field clad in red and thought he’d stumbled into one of his Maga rallies. That is the only logical explanation for his bizarre behaviour on the champions’ plinth in (a stadium near) New York as Spain hoisted their freshly won trophy aloft, Trump having to be dragged off the stage by notorious wallflower Gianni Infantino as Rodri exhibited his trademark composure, patiently waiting to bask in his team’s glory moment. This is the way the Geopolitics World Cup ends, not with a bang but a desperate grab for attention from the US president.
The GWC final had already witnessed its own on-field disgrace of course, in the shape of Argentina’s shameful performance. La Albiceleste tarnished their proud footballing history with a display completely devoid of ambition, pride and, well, quality. No shots in regulation time, no shots on target in the entire 120 minutes and Enzo Fernández sent off in ignominy.
Even Lionel Messi embarrassed himself for snitching to Slavko Vincic, pleading with the referee to brandish a red card after Marc Cucurella dared to put his hand to his mouth. The full-time scenes were even more debasing for Argentina, losing their heads in such a manner it made their first-half roughhouse tactics in the semi-final against England look like child’s play. This is the way the Geopolitics World Cup ends, not with a bang but a thump from Leandro Paredes.
With no little hyperbole, Trump proudly proclaimed the GWC to have been “one of the greatest events of any kind ever held”. Well, it’s certainly been the biggest World Cup ever, with more teams, more matches, even more hosts than ever before. But of the 104 games (up from 64 in 2022), many have felt like a slog.
UK readers, can you look Football Daily in the eye and truthfully say you stayed up until 3am to watch the conclusion of Ecuador 0-0 Curaçao? There has been plenty to enjoy, of course. Cape Verde were a genuine breath of fresh air, the only nation to play Spain and come away unscathed, while their near-miss in the last 32 against Argentina will be forever etched in World Cup folklore – oh what might have been but for Messi’s genius.
We hope to see the Cape Verde lads back in 20…
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