The title holders reached the World Cup final after overturning England 2-1 in the semi-final in Atlanta. The decisive header was scored by Lautaro Martínez in the 92nd minute from a Lionel Messi cross, and Argentina will face Spain in Sunday’s title clash.
As reported by Index, the Argentine players did not run towards the goalscorer after the winner, but instead towards Messi, for whom this will be his third World Cup final. The match ended with an incident: Jude Bellingham struck Valentín Barco from behind, leading to a scuffle among the players.
According to the BBC, Argentina faces a potential FIFA disciplinary hearing after players celebrated with a banner reading "Las Malvinas son Argentinas", meaning "The Falklands are Argentine". The archipelago in the South Atlantic is a British overseas territory over which Argentina and the United Kingdom dispute sovereignty, and which sparked a war in 1982. FIFA fined the Argentine federation £20,000 in 2014 for the same banner for breaching rules on political messages.
In the other semi-final, Spain defeated France 2-0 on Tuesday, despite the French entering as strong favourites. The European champions are now unbeaten in 37 consecutive matches, equaling a record, and have kept a clean sheet in six of their seven tournament games. Manager Luis de la Fuente is managing his first World Cup final, while Spain reach only their second, having won in 2010. France will play in the third-place match.
