Argentina Midfielder Rodrigo De Paul Expresses Disappointment After FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Loss to Spain

Buenos Aires. After losing to Spain in the FIFA World Cup 2026 final, Argentina's midfielder Rodrigo De Paul expressed sadness for not being able to defend the title won in Qatar four years ago.

He claimed that this result has made the team even more united. 

In the final held at the New York New Jersey Stadium, Inter Miami midfielder De Paul played for 70 minutes, after which he was replaced by Atletico Madrid's Juliano Simeone.

In a long post on social media Instagram, De Paul said, 'If anyone deserved to feel that feeling again, it was you, so the greatest pain is not being able to bring the World Cup back to the country.' 

He mentioned that as time goes by, he realizes that people's relationship with this team is much more than a trophy, and he wants to move forward by holding onto this feeling.

In this regard, De Paul has strongly attacked Argentina's critics. He pointed out that many people were waiting to see the defeat of the team led by Lionel Messi.

Targeting the critics, De Paul wrote, 'Many people were waiting for this defeat by spreading baseless conspiracy theories throughout the World Cup to reduce the pain of not experiencing the happiness we are feeling.' 

He added that they were affected by the smile and behavior of the Argentine players, 'But this has reaffirmed that any feeling and love for our jersey can overcome anything.'

He said that although the pain of defeat will last for a long time, he is proud to be Argentinian. He added, 'This will hurt for a long time, but today more than ever I am proud to be Argentinian.'

There were allegations that FIFA supported Argentina throughout the tournament due to controversial decisions in favor of Argentina. These allegations subsided after Argentina could not even hit one on-target shot against Spain.

Ferran Torres scored the decisive goal in extra time of the match, in which Argentina was reduced to 10 players, giving Spain a 1-0 victory.