Gary Neville has branded Argentina's performance in the World Cup final against Spain as "a bag of s***," offering a scathing assessment of their display after they failed to win back-to-back titles. The team was unable to register a shot on target until deep into extra time in a match dominated by their opponents.
Despite a defense that held Spain until Ferran Torres scored in the 106th minute, Argentina's physical approach to the game has drawn widespread condemnation. Speaking on The Overlap's Stick to Football podcast, Neville stated, "They played terribly, let's be clear, they played poorly in the game." He added, "if it looks like s*** and it smells like s***, it's s*** to be fair. What we watched in the final was a performance that was poor, and they've played poorly at times."
Neville also suggested that Argentina's success in reaching a second consecutive World Cup final was largely due to the brilliance of Lionel Messi, who scored eight goals on the path to the final. "But they've got massive chemistry and fierce competitiveness that gets them through, and they've got an incredible player up top who gets them over the line. Without him, I said this in the last tournament, they're a team that would probably struggle to get to the same point," Neville commented.
Fellow former England player Ian Wright expressed sympathy for Messi's visible distress after the loss but maintained that Spain was the deserving winner. "I'm delighted that Argentina didn’t win but I am sad, I didn't like to see Messi crying like that, you saw what it meant to him,' he said. 'But I'm quite happy for Spain."
Messi himself shared his disappointment on Instagram, acknowledging the immense pain of the defeat but also reflecting on the positive aspects of their journey. "The pain is immense, and this wound will take time to heal," he wrote. "But I also hold onto all the good things... The matches we turned around by giving it our all—moments that will remain in our memories forever—and the support of an entire country which, combined with this group's hard work and effort, brought us back among the world's elite once again."
He continued, "It is hard to fully appreciate our achievement right now, but this group reached two consecutive World Cup finals. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for every greeting and message. Once again, we managed to unite as a country and stand together, sharing the immense pride of being Argentine. I also want to congratulate Spain on winning the championship."
Argentina, who had faced criticism for their physicality in earlier matches against teams like Egypt and England, ultimately fell short in the final. Following the match, the team reportedly declined to participate in post-match interviews and did not watch the trophy presentation.