Former England internationals strongly condemned the behaviour of Argentina’s players on the field.
Ex-England captain Alan Shearer criticised Leandro Paredes, saying he appeared to throw several punches at an opponent and insisting there is no place for that in football.
He acknowledged how much the result mattered and how painful defeat can be, but argued there is a right way to lose, adding that Argentina’s reaction after the final whistle was unacceptable.
Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart said the outcome was clear and branded the conduct “disgusting.”
Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni sought to cool tensions in his post-match remarks.
He stressed that the team must show grace in defeat as well as in victory, saying they accept the result while remembering everything they achieved to reach this point.
The three-time world champions (1978, 1986 and 2022) opened their North American campaign with seven straight wins—over Algeria, Austria, Jordan, Cape Verde, Egypt, Switzerland and England—before losing to Spain.
Against Egypt, they came from 2-0 down to score three late goals, and in the semi-final with England, the Three Lions led 1-0 until the 85th minute before goals from Enzo Fernández and a Lautaro Martínez header completed a 2-1 turnaround.
Multiple Argentine outlets have suggested the final could be Scaloni’s last match and described it as the end of an era, with a tearful Lionel Messi unlikely to appear at another World Cup.
Messi said the pain was immense and would take time to heal, but that he would hold on to the positives, he wrote on social media.