The better team vs. the privileged, preferred, chosen one.
The No. 2 FIFA ranked team in the world vs. the world No. 1 team and the World Cup defending champs.
The confirmed future of the sport vs. the sport’s confirmed G.O.A.T. (With a now iconic set of images of one giving the other a bath when one was 20 years old and the other yet a year-old becoming the emblematic visualization for the entire event.)
Spain vs. Argentina. Argentina vs. the World.
The narrative choices as we sit on the promontory of this World Cup final tell a story of a five-week event that, on paper, lived beyond its own lofty expectations while, off-purpose, delivered a 103-game exposé on everything wrong and corrupt about the game of soccer on the world stage when FIFA gets involved.
Yet the Europe vs. South America installment of what will take course over the 90-plus-extra time minutes damn-near erases all of the neoliberalism vs. geopolitical dictatorship that makes the World Cup so ugly, breathtaking and addictive at the same time.
It’s often hard to appreciate a global championship when the sport itself — or the sport’s governing body — gets in front of the game. Spain’s masterclass against France further proved (by shutting them out, making it six shutouts in seven matches so far this World Cup and only allowing one goal in the 2-1 victory over Belgium) that defense gets countries to championships. And Argentina’s inability to lose and finally win a game on their own merits (without perceived and believed assistance from the referees, VAR, FIFA or England coach Thomas Tuchel’s mysterious tactical adjustments), can erase all of the conspiracies.
Even in a World Cup when the world is watching, dissecting and internalizing e-v-e-r-y-thing.
Regardless of the galvanizing “no sport compares to futbol” energy that has come from this World Cup, in spite of the brilliancy and intensity of competition and play that’s been on display, despite the fact there being in this WC alone 37 goals scored in stoppage time (after the 90th minute) allowing it to be deemed one of the most dramatic World Cups ever, dissension persists. With Argentina being the reason for so much of the Cup’s contentions.
The hundreds (maybe thousands-on-thousands) of video posts deep-diving into favoritism throughout this entire World Cup given to Argentina and Lionel Messi to assure them a “proper” repeat of not just an appearance in the Final but a repeat of the crown, despite Messi’s “nothing was handed to us” comments, tells a story. One which came at the total cost of exposing the full-on racial and discriminatory and imperialistic history of Argentina. Including an Argentine player, Gianluca Prestianni, (who was not a part of their World Cup roster) being the one responsible for the implementation of the “Vini Jr. Law” into the sport, and social media influencer Darren Watkins Jr. (aka: IShowSpeed) while live streaming during the Argentina/Cape Verde match, as he was wearing Cape Verde kit, after the loss, being told by Argentinians/La Albiceleste fans to ”go cry at the zoo.”
And how Messi has been silent (same neutrality as another G.O.A.T. has been accused of) during all of it while his name and mastery on the pitch will after this World Cup forever be unseparated.
How this World Cup, more than any in the past, put on display the extent and effect of global colonialism, ethnic bigotry, coerced migration, transatlantic slavery, favored corruption stemming from all things, like, the blatant disregard towards Egypt’s coach both during and after his teams match against Argentina, Senegal’s “assisted” and “cruel” loss to Belgium, a Paraguayan government official calling next G.O.A.T. Kylian Mbappe a “colonized Cameroonian pretending to be French,” the Trump “phone call” to FIFA president Gianni Infantino that became one of the most emboldened and unhidden acts of circumvented intercontinental favoritism and cronyism ever exhibited during a professional sporting event.
Even in all of this this is what makes this (and any, if we really get real with it) World Cup finale sports’ version of everything: It was evident in the bilateralism of the first semifinal between France and Spain, and even more evident in the historic dislike (hatred?) between England and Argentina in the other semi that led to this World Cup’s conclusion. Bringing to the pitch that fact that in the 1500’s Juan Diaz de Solias established a colony that would become Buenos Aires with Spain eventually integrating Argentina into their empire a few centuries later.
(Also Messi’s own personal history with Spain, as he moved from Rosario in Argentina to Barcelona, Spain, at age 13, to only choose to play for his birth country over his adopted one as a professional.)
Expect yellow cards-a-poppin’; a level of physicality from the opening kick to set the agenda of a match that corny white announcers will call “chippy;” breathtaking 1-on-1 battles; prepare for the unforgettable.
Just know as you watch what FIFA allowed to happen during this tournament to allow it to get to this ending. To totally separate this Spain/Argentina “War of Independence” from all that happened to get it here would be thoughtless. Because what FIFA did was answer a lot of questions about who the were, are and will continue to be. Even at the expense of the beauteousness of the game.