While Latin Americans have traditionally rallied behind football teams from the region who advance deep into the World Cup tournament, a flood of memes, jokes and criticism has made it clear there is one exception: Argentina.
In one photoshopped picture that went viral, Lamine Yamal — who leads Argentina’s opponent, Spain — is wearing a Brazilian jersey. The snarky caption? “The hope of the Brazilian people.”
The fervour goes beyond the historic rivalry between Pele’s Brazil and Diego Maradona’s Argentina: Mexico, Colombia, Chile and others are all hoping Lionel Messi’s Albiceleste bite the dust on Sunday.
A similar phenomenon occurred before Argentina won its third World Cup title in 2022.
Colombian sociologist German Gomez told AFP that the “dynamic of solidarity … has been broken” with Argentina.
