The world celebrated when Lionel Messi finally lifted the World Cup trophy in 2022 as Argentina defeated then-defending champion France, 4-2 on penalties. But the current tournament shows a different story with Messi and Argentina hate ramping up.
Why are fans turning against Argentina? The country has become a polarising team as it faces various controversies, such as FIFA favouritism, racism and arrogance.
People Always Root for the Underdogs
It doesn't help Argentina's case that they came in the 2026 World Cup as the defending champion. Fans always root for the underdogs, which the Argentines are not. However, the squad also came with an air of arrogance, according to some critics.
There is no way to measure arrogance, but as an Argentine Redditor explained, 'Within Latin America, Argentines are viewed as arrogant and racist. This stereotype is not without basis, as, unfortunately, many of my fellow countryfolk seem to think a high percentage of European ancestry makes us better.'
Such European ancestry was a major talking point in the World Cup after it was observed that Argentina is the only team without a Black player. Argentina detractors are quick to use this as proof of the team's racist tendencies.
Are Argentines Racist?
Argentine content creators, particularly those of Afro-Argentine descent, were quick to defend their team and country. TikTok user @maniludiaries shared an educational video, which received more than 250,000 likes, about Argentina's history with the caption, 'If you're going to talk about a country's history that isn't yours, please make sure you've learned it correctly.'
@maniludiaries If you’re going to talk about a country’s history that isn’t yours, please make sure you’ve learned it correctly. 💗 #argentina #worldcup #racism #racismo #futbol
♬ original sound - manilu 🗽
The user explained that Argentina has a low Afro-Argentine population because of the war, plague, abolition of slavery and European migration. The war and plague contributed to the large decrease in the Afro-Argentine population, while integration into society, along with European migration, changed how Black Argentines look.
As of the 2022 census, the Afro-Argentine population is 302,936 or less than 1% of the country's population. This explains why there are no Black players in Team Argentina. As for racism, Argentine content creators said it exists in all countries.
Caught on Camera
FIFA had to make a statement against racism as Argentina supporters were caught harassing and making racist gestures and comments on content creator IShowSpeed's stream during the Argentina and Cape Verde match.
'FIFA strongly condemns racism, hate and discrimination in all forms,' the football governing body said. Fans also hope that FIFA will be 'more fair' during Argentina matches.
🇦🇷🇨🇻 FIFA just launched an investigation into alleged racist abuse of IShowSpeed.
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 7, 2026
The streamer, in a Cape Verde kit, got into it with an Argentina fan at Hard Rock Stadium.
Source: BBC / Writer: Solpic.twitter.com/XpvylFj0pR https://t.co/c1H9voRe3V
FIFA Favouritism
There is no concrete evidence of favouritism, but Argentina critics are convinced that FIFA is writing the script for Messi to win back-to-back World Cups. Egypt coach Hossam Hassan piled on, saying, 'We looked better than the reigning champions, better in everything, but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it.'
Argentina trailed behind Egypt, 2-0, during the Round of 16 match. But the defending champions turned it around with a 3-2 victory, although marred by controversies. But Spain's team manager Luis de la Fuente defended the referees: 'Where did that come from? I watched the game and thought the referee got everything right.'
Argentina will face the England in the semifinals this Wednesday, 15 July.
