Argentina‘s aggressive style of play was a significant aspect of the World Cup final on Sunday and throughout the competition.
Unfortunately, this approach backfired for Argentina, as they found themselves a player short during extra time in the match against Spain, who secured a 1-0 victory to claim their second World Cup title.
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Enzo Fernández received his second yellow card late in regulation, resulting in his dismissal just before the match moved to extra time, which was still scoreless. This left Argentina without one of their key players for the entirety of the extra period.
The incident in which Fernández was sent off occurred in the 93rd minute. A header from Argentina, following one of Emiliano Martínez‘s ninth save sent the ball toward the Spanish goal near the midfield line.
Spain’s Pau Cubarsí responded by kicking the ball back toward Argentina’s goal. However, as he did, a speeding Fernández collided with him, causing Cubarsí to flip through the air.
Referee Slavko Vinčić promptly issued a yellow card to Fernández, followed by a red card that expelled him from the match. Fernández’s first yellow card came in the 82nd minute after he protested a foul not called on a tackle by Spain’s Rodri, which was reminiscent of the contact patterns present throughout the match.
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Here’s a closer look at the foul that led to Fernández’s ejection. He collided with a mid-air Cubarsí, clearly committing a foul that ended Fernández’s participation in the game.
Shortly after, the regulation time ended, and the match proceeded to extra time with a score still locked at zero. Spain managed to score in the second period of extra time when Ferran Torres scored the decisive goal.
Accumulation of Yellow Cards for Argentina
Before the late red card, tensions escalated as shoving occurred following halftime, resulting in a yellow card for Argentina’s Leandro Paredes.
While Spain maintained possession at midfield, Paredes shoved Rodri from behind, causing him to fall to the ground away from the ball. The whistle was blown, and players from both sides gathered around Rodri and referee Vinčić at midfield.
Several Argentine players attempted to confront Rodri as he lay on the ground, only to be blocked by Spanish players. Paredes approached the altercation and further shoved several Spanish players.
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His second shove, this time against Dani Olmo, sent Olmo to the ground, prompting referee Vinčić to finally issue Paredes a yellow card.
This yellow card marked the second given to Argentina that match after Lisandro Martínez received one in the first half for tripping Mikel Oyarzabal during a challenge.
Fernández’s yellow cards contributed to a total of four for Argentina, while Spain remained without any. Additionally, Argentina’s coach Lionel Scaloni received a fifth after arguing with officials during extra time.
Argentina approached the final with a history of physical play that has been criticized as overly aggressive. Their performance under the stakes of the World Cup only reinforced this perception and ultimately proved detrimental.