The Argentine press has officially run out of reality

Pull up a chair and keep the glass off the edge of the table, because the local headlines coming out of Buenos Aires are absolutely delusional. After a performance that looked less like a tactical masterclass and more like a Sunday league side trying to navigate a monsoon, the local papers have decided that the national squad is somehow above reproach. They are screaming 'Nothing to blame them for' as if we didn't just watch ninety minutes of football that would make a statue fall asleep. It is the kind of gaslighting that would put an EastEnders villain to shame.

We are talking about a unit that boasts the best talent in the world, yet they played with the urgency of a sloth running on a treadmill. The defense was leaking like a rusted barge in the North Sea, and the midfield spent most of the second half looking for a missing person report. If I pulled a shift like that in a pub league game, my manager would have locked the changing room door and left me to hitchhike home. Instead, the sports desk back home is acting like this was a valiant sacrifice on some holy altar of prestige.

The untouchable status of the Albiceleste

There is a dangerous culture forming where the legacy of certain players essentially acts as a permanent get-out-of-jail-free card. We saw it with Ronaldo disciples for years and we are seeing it again now with an Argentina side that clearly ran out of gas. A dismal final serves as a wake-up call in any other country, but here, it is treated like a tragic oversight by the universe. When you have top-tier professionals like Enzo Fernandez or Julian Alvarez, you expect them to show up when the trophy is actually on the table.

Instead, they drifted through the motions, failing to track back on turnovers that were as basic as a YouTube tutorial. You do not win matches by relying on the nostalgic glow of glory days past; you win by closing down spaces and winning your individual duels. The tactical setup was arguably the biggest issue, with the bench failing to make a sub until the 78th minute even though the pitch clearly needed a complete overhaul. That is not bad luck, that is a tactical lobotomy.

The danger of coddling stars

By telling these players that there is absolutely nothing to blame them for, you are effectively setting the next qualifying cycle on fire. Nobody is saying they need to be burned at the stake, but when you play a final, the expectation is intensity. Even the most casual fan can see the disconnect between the squad's ability and their output in the final third. Watching them attempt to break down a compact low block was like watching a guy try to open a high-security vault with a plastic spork.

The media narratives currently circulating ignore the fact that momentum is a finite resource in football. If you mismanage your energy and leave yourself vulnerable to the counter, you deserve the criticism that follows. Trying to paint this humiliation as a noble defeat is just insulting to anyone who cares about the integrity of the sport. It feels like the press is terrified of admitting that perhaps, just perhaps, the cycle has reached a natural conclusion.

Refusing to hold these players accountable after such a lethargic showing is a disservice to the supporters who dropped their own hard-earned cash to travel and watch that mess. It is the same kind of blind loyalty that kept Manchester United stuck in the mud for three seasons, as The Guardian reported regarding the fallout at Old Trafford. If they were playing for their spots, a few of these guys would be lucky to keep their kit lockers by Tuesday morning.

Look at the individual mistakes made in the defensive third alone. We saw players standing around like they were waiting for a bus in the rain while the opposition sliced through the middle with ease. It takes more than just a famous badge to win a tournament. It takes a willingness to sweat, to bleed, and to actually chase down an opponent when you lose the ball. They did none of that on the big stage, and acting like it didn't happen is the ultimate form of professional denial.

The reality check they need

If the local papers want to do their job, they should be demanding a full post-mortem on why that team looked so fundamentally broken. You don't have to be a tactical genius to see the lack of structure when the squad was under pressure. There is a reason why BBC Sport coverage often points out that passion without a plan leads to exactly this kind of disaster. It is a lesson that this particular team clearly hasn't learned yet.

Letโ€™s call it what it is: a tactical misfire caused by complacency and a refusal to acknowledge that even legends can have a bad night at the office. The 'Nothing to blame them for' narrative is a comforting lie, but it is still a lie. They had the ball, they had the time, and they had the opportunities to force the issue. They chose to let the clock run out on their own ambition instead.

Ultimately, these professional athletes are paid enough to handle the heat of honest criticism. They are not delicate flowers that will wilt if someone asks why they didn't make a run into the channel. The obsession with protecting their image at all costs does nothing but breed mediocrity. If they want to be considered the best, they need to act like it on the pitch, not just on the front page of a newspaper that will be used to wrap fish by tomorrow morning.