Lionel Scaloni himself admitted it. “Spain deserved to win World Cup.” “They were the better side”, he added. “We are gracious in victory, and we must be gracious in defeat. Today, we are showing that we know how to lose.” What else do we need to stop ruminating about dark conspiracy theories about the final result? Can’t we just accept that we were defeated this time? That’s life, as the song goes. “You’re riding high in April, shot down in May.” We seem to have low frustration tolerance. It’s high time we learnt to cope with setbacks like this one. Life is no bed of roses, nor is sport. There are ups and downs; sometimes we win, sometimes we lose, and we can learn from both, victories and losses. I do hope we keep a tiny little bit of the national pride and patriotism we boasted off all along the last few weeks. Let’s display our flag (“la celeste y blanca”) more often, shall we? Not only when “La Scaloneta” plays.
Buenos Aires Times, July 25, 2026