A little over a month ago, I was sitting at my desk, staring at the same laptop screen as I am right now, writing about how the pre-World Cup vibes in Argentina were totally, majorly, completely off. But you know how the saying goes: If you want to make God laugh, just tell her your plans. It would be the understatement of the century to say that the last month was an absolute whirlwind.
The tournament gave us underdogs and upsets, Grade A memes and next-level geopolitical drama. It showed us the power of sport to unite us all in a shared sense of humanity while also highlighting how easy it is to sow discord through online discourse and propaganda. The Albiceleste’s initial performance was tepid, with the first few matches failing to set a tone that would easily predict where we’d end up on July 19.
That all changed on one fateful Friday night against Cape Verde, the beloved underdog team that captured everyone’s hearts (including our own). I mean, how can you argue against a squad that found one of its players on LinkedIn and that has a goalie with the most heartwarming origin story?! It was a reminder that to be Argentine is to suffer and that no victory of ours can ever be easily won — and that perhaps we should all consider having a cardiologist on speed dial.
We paraded into that weekend jubilant, relieved, and geared up for what was to come. Suddenly our status went from high-on-life hinchas to targets of an intense global campaign fueled by misinformation and well beyond the limits of friendly football rivalries. Social media platforms were flooded with comments that the tournament was “rigged,” that Messi had FIFA in his back pocket (we’re actually broke, remember?), and that Argentina is a terrible country, undeserving of anything good.
In true Argentine fashion, we carried on, drowning out the criticism. Following the team’s incredible comeback against Egypt in a match so riveting it could have been scripted by Hollywood, the tension and discourse reached a fever pitch during the face-off against England in a semifinal for the record books. Selección Argentina Twitter Ahead of the match, FIFA had banned all flags, signs, and political messaging alluding to the Malvinas.
But as the Argentine squad celebrated its historic win — once again involving a stunn…
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