Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez becomes World Cup final scapegoat after red…
Enzo Fernández lived on either side of the emotional coin in the World Cup.
Five days in the past, he was the hero who rescued Argentina with a shocking late equalizer in the semifinal against England.
But on the sport’s greatest stage, he went from savior to scapegoat in a matter of minutes.
His red card in second-half stoppage time didn’t just put Argentina in a precarious place down a person, it stripped the defending champion of its last real looking path to win the match, finally falling to Spain in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final 1-0 in additional time.
“Enzo’s sending off … I think the first yellow card could have been avoided by the referee, but it is what is,” Argentina supervisor Lionel Scaloni said. “Of course he wasn’t thinking about booking him with a second yellow card. It’s a World Cup Final and I think there’s things that could have been avoided.”
After already struggling to create something on offense against Spain’s suffocating press, Argentina had did not register a single shot in regulation.
Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez (24) is shown the red card and despatched off by referee Slavko Vincic during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final match between Spain and Argentina held at MetLife Stadium on Sunday July 19, 2026.
Stefan Jeremiah for New York Post
As the game was headed to additional time, Argentina hoped to outlive and discover one fleeting second on the counterattack to steal victory from the jaws of defeat against Spain.
Then Fernández misplaced his composure.
In the 82nd minute, Fernández was shown a yellow card for dissent after protesting a non-foul determination by Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic.
It was a unnecessary reserving from one in every of Argentina’s emotional leaders, however it could soon turn out to be more vital than anybody realized.
Spain defender Pau Cubarsi (22) is fouled by Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez (24), leading to a second-yellow card and Fernandez being despatched off in the ninetieth minute of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Ten minutes later, catastrophe struck.
As Pau Cubarsí chased a unfastened ball close to midfield, Fernández lunged right into a reckless challenge that left Vincic with little selection however to indicate the Argentine midfielder a second yellow and in flip, a red card. Argentina was right down to 10 males with stoppage time winding down and a further half-hour of additional time still left to play.
Fernández walked slowly towards the tunnel as Spanish supporters erupted while 1000’s of Argentine followers stood silent inside MetLife Stadium, absolutely conscious that the mountain in entrance of their team had out of the blue turn out to be virtually unimaginable to climb.
Fernández turned just the sixth participant ever despatched off in a FIFA World Cup final, becoming a member of one in every of the tournament’s most exclusive and notorious lists.
Rather than being remembered for his thunderbolt against England that carried Argentina into the championship match, his tournament will eternally embrace one in every of the defining errors of the final itself.
It’s unlikely Argentina, fully dominated by Spain all day lengthy, would have received anyway, however Fernández’s one reckless challenge all however extinguished them.
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