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still thinking about how much of a miscalculation FFE was from Infantino — the main complaint from FIFA’s voting members was that he didn’t follow the necessary procedure to ensure they were aware of it, *not* that the plan existed domino effect from here will be fascinating, to say the least

U.S. Soccer goes with a pretty mild response on FFE but they are, unsurprisingly, sticking with Concacaf's statement

the women's game is stuck between a rock and a hard place right now feels very unlikely that FFE will prioritize it, so it's hard to blame UEFA for a boycott that could theoretically work quickly enough and yet it's hard to deny how much missing major tournaments (and 2027 WWC) would truly suck

👋

I am always team Let Athletes Have Fun (as long as it does not genuinely cause harm to others)

you’re not wrong — I was talking about the obligatory hydration breaks (and should’ve said as much)

I think we all had a ridiculous amount of fun for the most part, just enough to mask some of stuff that stains this World Cup’s legacy — mainly Iran’s circumstances and the decision on Folarin Balogun’s red card makes this summer an apt example of the world we’re currently dealing with

Spain’s Luis de la Fuente kept it simple at times in his post-match reflections: “Whilst all finals are tough, when you're up against [Lionel] Messi, you do get a bit nervous. We played better football”

Luis de la Fuente on players’ pledge to get a tattoo of his face: “They’re men of their word and they’re going to stick to their word … I’m not that ugly”

Luis de la Fuente on Lionel Scaloni: “We hugged each other. We said thank you to each other … I’m deeply sorry for what he la going through,” adds Scaloni should be proud of himself and has plenty ahead of him as a coach becuase he’s “still so young”

the emotions eventually poured out of Lionel Scaloni — he began to wipe away tears and then as it became clear he couldn’t hold them back, he left the press conference

Lionel Scaloni on his future with Argentina: “We’ve tried until the very last minute to give our utmost … It’s only fair that I can take time for myself to think this through”

Lionel Scaloni: “I already cried my heart out in the locker room. That’s why I’m not crying now”

the referees also got whistled by a selection of the crowd as they received their participation medals

you could hear the boos very audibly inside the press box, which has glass so thick that you couldn't hear the pre-game performances at all

FT: Spain 1, Argentina 0 Spain survive a trying game by sticking to Plan A and reap the reward eventually, slaying the World Cup villains in the process to win their second title

First shot in a World Cup final in the 117th minute? Argentina want to be the baddies

Spain 1, Argentina 0 at long last, the goal Spain probably should have had ages ago if Emiliano Martinez wasn't standing on his head and Ferran Torres just might be your unlikely World Cup final hero

zero shots from Argentina, 105 minutes into the World Cup final ... this game officially has penalties written all over it

following up on this - Emiliano Martinez already has the save record for a World Cup final and got there with his ninth, he's up to 11 now with the latest effort