[PVTree]

Argentine fans got panned for being obnoxious and offensive, but AFAIK they weren’t hurling homophobic insults at the opponents goalies.  That was not Mexico’s finest moment, but I don’t want the actions of some fans to prejudice my feelings for El Tri, which is one of my favorite teams.  And I found it rich for the English fans to be complaining about the conduct of any other country’s fans.

BC

Speaking only for myself, as someone who has attended many international matches in person, I have no issue with Argentina fans. I think they are fun and add a lot to the atmosphere. There are other fan bases that are truly toxic. My criticisms are strictly about the team on the field itself.

When I was about 4 years old until I was almost 7, my family lived in Buenos Aires for three years.  My father thought it would be cool to take me to a soccer match, but was dissuaded from doing so having been told that the stands were no place for a child and there was a not insubstantial risk of being hit by a bottle.  From Wikipedia, between 1922 and 2022, 300 people died in conjunction with football-related violence tied to Argentina.  But then again, at that time (the late 70’s) it wouldn’t have been safe to go to a Premier league match either.  So it’s not like Argentine fans can’t be toxic.

With regards to the team itself, would you believe that over the course of the tournament, two Spanish players amassed more fouls than Fernandez, Alvarez, or Paredes (or any of the other Argentine players)?https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexicousa2026/statistics/player-statistics

Yamal had 14 fouls over the course of the tournament (which, for a striker, is pretty bad), and Baena had 13.  Fernandez, Argentina’s biggest fouler was at 12.  All told, Argentina had 113 fouls throughout the tournament, while Spain had 100.  OTOH, Argentina drew more fouls than any other team (100 vs. 89 for Spain).  Argentina did have more yellow cards than anyone else (15) but played more matches than anyone but Spain, England, or France.  In terms of yellow cards per match, they had just under 2, but Egypt (12 in 5 matches) and Canada (11 in 5; I thought they were supposed to be nice!) had more on a per match basis.  Bottom line, despite a pretty bad match against Spain, their overall showing was not an anomaly, unless you are really bothered by the whining to the refs, which is not recorded (and, in any case, they are hardly alone in doing).

BC

Those foul statistics don't count the fouls that were not called that they committed... One of the beefs brought up by the tango-haters.

[PVTree]

Argentine fans got panned for being obnoxious and offensive, but AFAIK they weren’t hurling homophobic insults at the opponents goalies.  That was not Mexico’s finest moment, but I don’t want the actions of some fans to prejudice my feelings for El Tri, which is one of my favorite teams.  And I found it rich for the English fans to be complaining about the conduct of any other country’s fans.

BC

Speaking only for myself, as someone who has attended many international matches in person, I have no issue with Argentina fans. I think they are fun and add a lot to the atmosphere. There are other fan bases that are truly toxic. My criticisms are strictly about the team on the field itself.

When I was about 4 years old until I was almost 7, my family lived in Buenos Aires for three years.  My father thought it would be cool to take me to a soccer match, but was dissuaded from doing so having been told that the stands were no place for a child and there was a not insubstantial risk of being hit by a bottle.  From Wikipedia, between 1922 and 2022, 300 people died in conjunction with football-related violence tied to Argentina.  But then again, at that time (the late 70’s) it wouldn’t have been safe to go to a Premier league match either.  So it’s not like Argentine fans can’t be toxic.

With regards to the team itself, would you believe that over the course of the tournament, two Spanish players amassed more fouls than Fernandez, Alvarez, or Paredes (or any of the other Argentine players)?https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexicousa2026/statistics/player-statistics

Yamal had 14 fouls over the course of the tournament (which, for a striker, is pretty bad), and Baena had 13.  Fernandez, Argentina’s biggest fouler was at 12.  All told, Argentina had 113 fouls throughout the tournament, while Spain had 100.  OTOH, Argentina drew more fouls than any other team (100 vs. 89 for Spain).  Argentina did have more yellow cards than anyone else (15) but played more matches than anyone but Spain, England, or France.  In terms of yellow cards per match, they had just under 2, but Egypt (12 in 5 matches) and Canada (11 in 5; I thought they were supposed to be nice!) had more on a per match basis.  Bottom line, despite a pretty bad match against Spain, their overall showing was not an anomaly, unless you are really bothered by the whining to the refs, which is not recorded (and, in any case, they are hardly alone in doing).

BC

Those foul statistics don't count the fouls that were not called that they committed... One of the beefs brought up by the tango-haters.