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WHY SO MANY LATIN AMERICANS ARE ROOTING AGAINST ARGENTINA IN THE
WORLD CUP  
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Patrick J. McDonnell, Kate Linthicum, Jad El Reda, Cecilia Sánchez
Vidal
July 15, 2026
Yahoo
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_ Argentina may be the last Latin American team standing in the World
Cup, but don't expect many fans in Mexico to be cheering for La
Albiceleste — the lads sporting the classic white and blue stripes.
Deeper cultural resentments are also a factor. _

Lionel Messi, left, of Argentina celebrates scoring his team's first
goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 match between Argentina and
Algeria at Kansas City Stadium on June 16 in Kansas City, MO., Photo
credit: Charlotte Wilson // Los Angeles Times / yahoo!sports

 

Argentina [[link removed]] may be
the last Latin American team standing in the World Cup, but don't
expect many fans in Mexico
[[link removed]] to be cheering for _La
Albiceleste_ — the lads sporting the classic white and blue stripes.

"There's no way I want the Argentines to win," said Roberto García,
55, who owns a clothing shop in the Mexican capital. "How can one
sympathize with a team that has such a supremacist, racist discourse?"

The Argentine squad — reigning world champions led by seemingly
ageless superstar Lionel Messi
[[link removed]] — faces off
Wednesday in a semifinal match against England
[[link removed]]. Argentina is seeking
its fourth World Cup, which would put it in a second-place tie for
global titles with Germany
[[link removed]] and Italy
[[link removed]], trailing only
Brazil [[link removed]] and its five
cups.

But Argentina's 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
[[link removed]] has long inspired
among a certain segment of Latin American fans, especially those in
Mexico.

 
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.  (Photo:
Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times / yahoo!sports)
 

A combination of factors are to blame: Mexico's repeated World Cup
losses to Argentina, a series of questionable refereeing decisions
seeming to favor Argentina, Messi's massive media presence and ongoing
discourse on social media — where legitimate analysis coexists with
passionate opinions and misinformation.

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're better than the rest of Latin
America.

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: "I detest
Mexicans, I detest them with my soul. … The envy they feel for us,
not only in football but in everything."

Feinmann's comments sparked such widespread ire that Mexican President
Claudia Sheinbaum weighed in, calling his remarks "appalling."

Later, Feinmann said his words were not directed at the Mexican people
— while musing that Sheinbaum had bigger things to worry about, like
combating narco-trafficking, violence and corruption.

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, "does not have any French players."

At two Argentina matches during this year's 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's bias. "The Mexicans came
from the Indians, the Brazilians came from the jungle, but we
Argentines came from the ships ... from Europe," former Argentine
President Alberto Fernández said in 2021. 

 
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.  (Photo credit:
Mario Tama / yahoo!sports)
 

Many Argentines say they, too, are appalled by such comments. "We
reject it completely," said actress Karenina Ivankovic, 37. "But
you'll find rude people everywhere."

She moved from her native Argentina to Mexico City 13 years ago, and
said she is shocked by the wave of "xenophobia" directed at her
countrymen during this year's tournament.

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's world governing body.

People love Argentine music, Ivankovic said. They love Argentine beef.

"But during the World Cup," she said, "they hate us."

She thinks that may in part be because of how serious Argentines take
their _fútbol_.

"Argentina lives in crisis," she said. "Economic crisis, political
crisis. Soccer is something that unites us. We say there's no better
hug than after Argentina has scored a goal."

But at the end of the day, she said, people need to relax and remember
that what's at stake is just a tournament trophy.

"It's become very political and personal," she said. "But it's just a
game."

Even some fans in Mexico express remorse about the wave of
anti-Argentine sentiment — much of which has been playing out,
sometimes crudely, online.

"It's too bad that all this hate directed at the Argentines doesn't
allow us to appreciate that they have the best player in the world,
Messi," said Carlos Romero Díaz, 37, a car salesman here who was
rooting for the South Americans. "Yes, Argentina generates a lot of
anger, but at the end of the day, they score goals and win games."

While Mexico has never won a World Cup, Mexico City's iconic Estadio
Azteca has been the site of some of Argentina's greatest soccer
triumphs, notably its championship in the stirring 1986 World Cup. 

 
Argentina player Diego Maradona outjumps England goalkeeper Peter
Shilton to score with his "Hand of God" 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.
 

A quarterfinal match between Argentina and England featured two of
soccer legend Diego Maradona's greatest hits: the so-called "Goal of
the Century," by all accounts a masterpiece strike; and Maradona's
infamous "Hand of God" goal, an illegal hand-goal that was allowed to
stand because no referee saw the infraction.

But Mexico's losses to Argentina have left a strong mark too. No other
team has eliminated Mexico as many times in a World Cup.

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 — who scored one of the goals — taking
off a soccer boot while a Mexican jersey lay on the floor.

Mexican boxer Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez
[[link removed]] interpreted the
scene as the Argentine captain deliberately kicking the jersey and
accused him of disrespecting Mexico — an allegation that Messi
denied.

Years later, Messi acknowledged that the incident had altered the
perception some Mexican fans had of him.

"I've always felt very loved by the people of Mexico. I've never
disrespected anyone," he said during an interview with "Simplemente
Fútbol."

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.

Social media has been flooded with posts from users in Colombia
[[link removed]], Chile, Uruguay
[[link removed]], Ecuador
[[link removed]] and Peru questioning
refereeing decisions or expressing disapproval of Argentina, while
messages mocking rival teams also proliferated from Argentine
accounts.

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.

_Staff writers Linthicum and El Reda reported from Mexico City and
McDonnell from Boston. Special correspondent Sánchez Vidal reported
from Mexico City and special correspondent Andrés D'Alessandro from
Buenos Aires._

_Originally published in the __Los Angeles Times_
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* Argentina
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* soccer
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* World Cup
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* FIFA
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* Spain
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* Latin America
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* Mexico
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* England
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* Lionel Messi
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* sports
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