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<\/p>\nMEXICO CITY\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Argentina may be the last Latin American team standing in the World Cup, but don\u2019t expect many fans in Mexico to be cheering for La Albiceleste \u2014 the lads sporting the classic white and blue stripes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no way I want the Argentines to win,\u201d said Roberto Garc\u00eda, 55, who owns a clothing shop in the Mexican capital. \u201cHow can one sympathize with a team that has such a supremacist, racist discourse?\u201d<\/p>\n
The Argentine squad \u2014 reigning world champions led by seemingly ageless superstar Lionel Messi \u2014 faces off Wednesday in a semifinal match against England. Argentina is seeking its fourth World Cup, which would put it in a second-place tie for global titles with Germany and Italy, trailing only Brazil and its five cups.<\/p>\n
But Argentina\u2019s performance in the 2026 World Cup has again put the spotlight on a contentious fact of life in world soccer: The current of disdain that the Argentine side has long inspired among a certain segment of Latin American fans, especially those in Mexico.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Reynaldo Flores Jr., 10, center, reacts during the final minutes of a round of 16 knockout match between Mexico and England during a World Cup watch party at Chapter One in Santa Ana on July 5.<\/p>\n
(Ronaldo Bola\u00f1os \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
A combination of factors are to blame: Mexico\u2019s repeated World Cup losses to Argentina, a series of questionable refereeing decisions seeming to favor Argentina, Messi\u2019s massive media presence and ongoing discourse on social media \u2014 where legitimate analysis coexists with passionate opinions and misinformation.<\/p>\n
Deeper cultural resentments are also a factor. Many in the region have long complained that Argentines, many of whom have predominantly European ancestry, think they\u2019re better than the rest of Latin America.<\/p>\n
Critics say that Eurocentric superiority complex was on display this summer when Argentine journalist Eduardo Feinmann declared on air, after Mexico was eliminated in a close match with England: \u201cI detest Mexicans, I detest them with my soul. \u2026 The envy they feel for us, not only in football but in everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Feinmann\u2019s comments sparked such widespread ire that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum weighed in, calling his remarks \u201cappalling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later, Feinmann said his words were not directed at the Mexican people \u2014 while musing that Sheinbaum had bigger things to worry about, like combating narco-trafficking, violence and corruption.<\/p>\n
The World Cup by its nature stokes nationalism, and the deployment of stereotypes and even outright racism has long been a feature of the tournament. Last week, for example, a former Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, sparked outrage when he said that the French national soccer team, which includes members with African immigrant backgrounds, \u201cdoes not have any French players.\u201d<\/p>\n
At two Argentina matches during this year\u2019s tournament, fans from the country were recorded hurling racist slurs at an African American streamer. Online critics were quick to dredge up comments by a former Argentinian leader as proof of the country\u2019s bias. \u201cThe Mexicans came from the Indians, the Brazilians came from the jungle, but we Argentines came from the ships … from Europe,\u201d former Argentine President Alberto Fern\u00e1ndez said in 2021.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
A boy wearing an Argentina jersey waves American flags as fireworks explode during the annual Independence Day Celebration in the predominantly Latino community of Lynwood on July 3.<\/p>\n
(Mario Tama \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Many Argentines say they, too, are appalled by such comments. \u201cWe reject it completely,\u201d said actress Karenina Ivankovic, 37. \u201cBut you\u2019ll find rude people everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
She moved from her native Argentina to Mexico City 13 years ago, and said she is shocked by the wave of \u201cxenophobia\u201d directed at her countrymen during this year\u2019s tournament. <\/p>\n
People have sent her nasty messages online, and strangers have stopped her on the street to tell her they hope Argentina loses. And she said several Argentine friends were physically attacked at a festival in Mexico City organized by FIFA, soccer\u2019s world governing body.<\/p>\n
People love Argentine music, Ivankovic said. They love Argentine beef. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut during the World Cup,\u201d she said, \u201cthey hate us.\u201d <\/p>\n
She thinks that may in part be because of how serious Argentines take their f\u00fatbol. <\/p>\n
\u201cArgentina lives in crisis,\u201d she said. \u201cEconomic crisis, political crisis. Soccer is something that unites us. We say there\u2019s no better hug than after Argentina has scored a goal.\u201d <\/p>\n
But at the end of the day, she said, people need to relax and remember that what\u2019s at stake is just a tournament trophy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s become very political and personal,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it\u2019s just a game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even some fans in Mexico express remorse about the wave of anti-Argentine sentiment \u2014 much of which has been playing out, sometimes crudely, online.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s too bad that all this hate directed at the Argentines doesn\u2019t allow us to appreciate that they have the best player in the world, Messi,\u201d said Carlos Romero D\u00edaz, 37, a car salesman here who was rooting for the South Americans. \u201cYes, Argentina generates a lot of anger, but at the end of the day, they score goals and win games.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Mexico has never won a World Cup, Mexico City\u2019s iconic Estadio Azteca has been the site of some of Argentina\u2019s greatest soccer triumphs, notably its championship in the stirring 1986 World Cup.<\/p>\n
![\"Argentina](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784474812_602_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Argentina player Diego Maradona outjumps England goalkeeper Peter Shilton to score with his \u201cHand of God\u201d goal as England defenders Kenny Sansom (top), Gary Stevens (center) and Terry Fenwick look on during the 1986 FIFA World Cup at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.<\/p>\n
(Getty Images)<\/p>\n
A quarterfinal match between Argentina and England featured two of soccer legend Diego Maradona\u2019s greatest hits: the so-called \u201cGoal of the Century,\u201d by all accounts a masterpiece strike; and Maradona\u2019s infamous \u201cHand of God\u201d goal, an illegal hand-goal that was allowed to stand because no referee saw the infraction.<\/p>\n
But Mexico\u2019s losses to Argentina have left a strong mark too. No other team has handed Mexico more crippling World Cup losses.<\/p>\n
After Argentina defeated Mexico 2-0 during group play in the 2022 World Cup, a video from inside the Argentine locker room began circulating, showing Messi \u2014 who scored one of the goals \u2014 taking off a soccer boot while a Mexican jersey lay on the floor.<\/p>\n
Mexican boxer Sa\u00fal \u201cCanelo\u201d \u00c1lvarez interpreted the scene as the Argentine captain deliberately kicking the jersey and accused him of disrespecting Mexico \u2014 an allegation that Messi denied.<\/p>\n
Years later, Messi acknowledged that the incident had altered the perception some Mexican fans had of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always felt very loved by the people of Mexico. I\u2019ve never disrespected anyone,\u201d he said during an interview with \u201cSimplemente F\u00fatbol.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Mexico is at the center of much of the debate, critical sentiment toward Argentina has taken hold among fans from other Latin American countries.<\/p>\n
Social media has been flooded with posts from users in Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, Ecuador and Peru questioning refereeing decisions or expressing disapproval of Argentina, while messages mocking rival teams also proliferated from Argentine accounts.<\/p>\n
As Argentina continues its quest for another World Cup title, the debate over whether it has simply been the best team in the tournament or also the one most favored by circumstances will continue to dominate soccer conversation in Latin America.<\/p>\n
Staff writers Linthicum and El Reda reported from Mexico City and McDonnell from Boston. Special correspondent S\u00e1nchez Vidal reported from Mexico City and special correspondent Andr\u00e9s D\u2019Alessandro from Buenos Aires. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MEXICO CITY\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Argentina may be the last Latin American team standing in the World Cup, but don\u2019t expect many…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":370283,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[19294,162237,8142,11708,2194,48,52,51,9304,47,50,49,37496,16142,138902,2457,162239,12967,5393,162238,72],"class_list":["post-404428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-argentina","tag-argentines","tag-comment","tag-england","tag-goal","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-latin-america","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-many-fan","tag-messi","tag-mexican-people","tag-mexico","tag-nasty-message","tag-tournament","tag-world-cup","tag-world-soccer","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=404428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/370283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=404428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=404428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=404428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}