"Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running." That was Egypt manager Hossam Hassan after his side were knocked out of the 2026 World Cup by Argentina in Atlanta — and whether you believe him or not, he is not the only one saying it.
Argentina are in the semifinal, four wins from making history as the first nation ever to win four straight major international trophies. But the goodwill that carried them through Qatar in 2022 — Messi's fairytale, a billion-plus viewers, a planet united behind La Pulga — has largely evaporated. This run feels different. Messier. More disputed. And the problems go far deeper than a few refereeing calls.
The refereeing controversy that keeps growing
Start with the matches themselves. Messi's studs-up challenge on Aïssa Mandi during the Algeria opener drew only a verbal warning. Former Bundesliga referee Patrick Ittrich was unambiguous: "By the letter of the law, that is a red. If I had seen it like that on the pitch, I would have shown red." Had that card been issued, Messi misses the next three group games. The tournament looks completely different.
Against Egypt in the Round of 16, Argentina fell behind twice and still advanced. A goal was disallowed for a foul in the build-up that looked marginal at best. Two Egyptian penalty appeals went unchecked by VAR. Messi and Enzo Fernández scored to complete a comeback that left the Pharaohs furious — and with genuine grievances.
Then came Switzerland in the quarterfinals. Breel Embolo — arguably the Swiss team's most dangerous outlet after Johan Manzambi's injury — was sent off for simulation after a VAR review of a second yellow. Swiss manager Murat Yakin called the rule "absolutely incomprehensible" and said the foul "was harmless, if it was even a foul at all." Without Embolo, Switzerland's ability to threaten evaporated. Late goals from Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez finished them off.
To be clear: Embolo's dive was obvious. He deserved to go. But the broader pattern — close calls, disallowed goals, penalty shouts waved away — has given critics enough to build a case, even if each individual incident has an explanation.
The corruption scandals that don't go away
The refereeing debate would be a footnote if it weren't sitting on top of something far more serious. The FBI is currently investigating TourProdEnter LLC, a Florida-based company that handled promotional deals for the Argentine Football Association. Argentine federal police have raided AFA headquarters and multiple clubs as part of a probe into alleged money laundering and tax evasion involving financial services firm Sur Finanzas.
According to La Nación, TourProdEnter managed at least $260 million in AFA revenue, with $57 million distributed to companies and beneficiaries whose economic justification is unclear from existing documentation. Investigative journalist Romain Molina has gone further, alleging that FIFA itself agreed to transfer World Cup prize money directly to TourProdEnter rather than the AFA — and that funds moved through shell companies, some owned by people who were bankrupt or living in public housing, who subsequently changed their phone numbers and disappeared with newfound wealth. Luxury properties, private planes, yachts.
No charges have been filed. But the investigation is entering its second year, and it is not going away.
Beneath the financial corruption sits something uglier still. ESPN investigative reporter Steve Fainaru's sweeping series "The Dream Factory" exposed what he found inside Argentina's youth football pipeline: thousands of children leaving families to live in pensiones, facing systemic exploitation, hunger, overcrowding, and in multiple documented cases, sexual predation. When police raided one facility and found 36 boys crammed into a one-story house, the culprit — known as "El Zurdo" — received a 10-day eviction notice and kept his job.
Separately, Molina alleges that FIFA cleared women's youth team coach Diego Guacci of harassment and mistreatment allegations against underage players despite the AFA knowing about the accusations from the start, and despite FIFA allegedly revealing the identities of complainants who had specifically requested confidentiality. The players, according to Molina, described the AFA internally as a "mafia."
Meanwhile, the domestic league has become something ESPN Argentina's Santi Bauzá describes bluntly: "The league system is an absolute mess and extremely detrimental for talent development here." Clubs with AFA connections winning contentious promotions, formats being rewritten mid-season, a regular season where teams play only half the league — 15 or 16 matches per semester — before a knockout format renders that form largely meaningless.
Does any of this mean Argentina's semifinal place is fraudulent? No. Messi's hat-trick against Algeria was real. The comeback against Egypt was real. Argentina have been there to be beaten and, credit where it's due, their opponents have not quite done it. But the accumulation of controversy — institutional, financial, and on the pitch — has shifted the global mood around this team sharply.
In 2022, a billion and a half people wanted Messi to win. In 2026, far fewer neutrals will be in Argentina's corner when they take on England in Atlanta. That is the cost of the last four years.
