Why many soccer fans may root against Argentina in the World Cup final

NPR | By A Martínez

Published July 17, 2026 at 4:41 AM EDT

When Argentina take on Spain in Sunday's World Cup final, many will be rooting for Argentina to lose. How did they become the villain of the tournament? NPR's A Martinez asks sports writer Adam Elder.

A Martínez

A Martínez is one of the hosts of Morning Edition and Up First. He came to NPR in 2021 and is based out of NPR West.

See stories by A Martínez

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