Reporter Han Bing reported that 3-0, Lautaro passed, Messi assisted twice, and Di Maria and Dybala each scored. The Argentine team inherited Maradona's legacy and won the "European South American Confrontation" championship that spanned 29 consecutive years. And what kind of mood did the Blues, who did not qualify for the World Cup, play this game? At least after the game, italian fans were sprinkled with another handful of salt on their wounds. Chiellini's national team farewell battle suffered an embarrassing three-goal defeat, and he was "eaten raw" by Di Maria's speed before the first half.
The tournament, which was only decided to resume last year, has increased Argentina's unbeaten run to a record 32, surpassing the 31 in the Basile era. Messi, who was depressed enough in Greater Paris and still affected by the after-effects of the new crown, was rejuvenated and continued to play the master of the Blue and White Army. As Argentina's El Naís said, Messi's team surpassed the European champions in all aspects, and the Argentine champion also won the 40th title of his career. From the U20 World Youth Championships, the Olympic Men's Football Team, the Copa America to the European South American Competition, there is only one Hercules Cup.
While Italy's performance was disappointing, Argentina showed a high standard of America's champions and possibly even World Cup champions' favourites.
The Ole newspaper stressed that this is the first time argentina has won seven matches at wembley Stadium, beating Italy, which has four World Cup champions. The previous six winless opponents were all England (3 draws and 3 losses). In the quarter-final of the 1966 World Cup, Argentine defender Ratin refused to leave the court because he did not understand the referee's decision, and simply sat on the red carpet in Queen Elizabeth's box 10 minutes later... This became the origin of the feud between the Two Countries.
Argentina has never won in regular time in the previous five official matches against Italy, but only won the penalty shoot-out victory in the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup, which ended the two winless records this time, and naturally the mood is high.
European champion vs South American champion, for some people this is the national team version of the "Intercontinental Cup", the winner should win a star, symbolizing "the champion of champions". But for others, it's just a commercial game of the best teams on two continents. The former is represented by UEFA and UEFA, while the latter stands for FIFA. For such an important match, FIFA president Infantino refused to be present, but European and South American Football Federation presidents Ceferin and Domingos said early.
Holding aloft the trophy that Maradona had lifted and winning the grand prix for two consecutive years, the Argentine team was ecstatic, but even happier were the two major football federations in Europe and South America. The restoration of this 29-year-old tournament is itself a revolt by the two major football federations against FIFA. The remade trophy is 45 centimetres tall and weighs 8.5 kilograms, almost perfectly recreating the original appearance of the inaugural tournament in 1985 – the two major football federations are going to use this event to prove their power in modern football.
Even after successfully blocking FIFA's crazy plan to "hold the World Cup every two years", Europe and South American Football Federation still decided to continue to challenge FIFA's authority. The "European South American Champions Match" (Finalissima) will replace the disappeared Confederations Cup as the new "Champion of Champions" tournament in addition to the World Cup winners. The two major fidelities recognize this as an official event, and the winner's shirt will also be awarded an official symbol of honor, like the FIFA Club World Cup badge or a star.
FIFA did not appoint a referee team for the match, nor was it represented, and the referee of the match was Piero Mazza, a Chilean negotiated by the two major football federations. The 37-year-old Chilean was not included in FIFA's World Cup referee list, with two of his compatriots serving as assistant referees.
Originally, the match was highly promising in Napoli, as the cup was Maradona's last trophy for the Argentine national team and was doubly commemorative. But eventually, the game moved to the more influential Wembley Stadium. Europe and SOUTH AFRICA have also signed a package of Memorandums of Understanding and set up a joint office in London to promote further cooperation between the two major football federations in national team and club competitions.
Because of this, the political significance of this "European and South American Championship Match" is far greater than the competitive and even economic significance. The tournament, named in honor of renowned sports journalist A. French, was previously held only twice in 1985 and 1993. France and Argentina were champions respectively, with Maradona winning the last honour he brought to Argentina after leading the team on penalties in February 1993 after beating European champions Denmark on penalties. Caniggia missed a penalty, but Goyechea saved the Castros as he did at the 1990 World Cup. After 1993, the Cup faded away as FIFA pushed the Confederations Cup.
Now, the four-year national team version of the "Intercontinental Cup" will become a milestone in the fight against FIFA's "hegemony".