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Lionel Messi has a message for Argentina's detractors: "Nothing was handed to us."
The Argentina superstar responded to critics who have been bashing the reigning World Cup champions over perceptions of beneficial officiating and favoritism by the soccer establishment. He said the team’s ability to overturn late-game deficits, most recently the semifinal victory over England, is the result of championship pedigree and nothing more.
After trailing 1-0 going into the 85th minute, Argentina rallied for a 2-1 win over England on Wednesday to reach the World Cup final.
The victory led tens of thousands to flood the streets of Buenos Aires in ecstatic celebrations, and marked another remarkable comeback that showed the perseverance of a team that is now one win from a back-to-back titles. Argentina faces Spain in Sunday's final.
Argentina earlier survived by beating Cape Verde and Switzerland in extra time, and rallied for an improbable 3-2 victory over Egypt after coming back from being down 2-0 with 11 minutes of regulation time to play. But both the Swiss and Egyptian coaches criticized the refereeing. Egypt's Hossam Hassan went as far as to say that his team was the victim of a soccer establishment that favored Messi and Argentina.
The comments fueled criticism sparked by fans who argue that the FIFA bracket favored La Albiceleste, and unfounded allegations on social media claiming that the soccer governing body wants Argentina to once again become World Cup champion.
"We’ve been the best over these past four years, either you like it or not, and no matter what anyone says," Messi said after the win over England.
"Once again, we’ve established ourselves among the top two teams in the world. That proves that everything we’ve done is no fluke and that nothing was handed to us."
The game against Switzerland swung on a call that riled up those who believe Argentina has been favored by World Cup officials.
The Swiss had just tied the game at 1-1 on Dan Ndoye’s goal in the 67th minute when Leandro Paredes was shown a yellow card for a tackle on Breel Embolo. But video showed the Swiss player falling before the Argentina midfielder made contact with him, and since Embolo received a yellow card earlier in the match, he was sent off and Switzerland was left to defend with 10 players.
"We were punished because of a rule that in my opinion is completely unacceptable," Swiss coach Murat Yakin said after the game. "It’s very painful that we were eliminated that way. I don’t think we deserve that today, and in my opinion, my boys are the real heroes."
Meanwhile, the Egyptian Football Association had said it "cannot remain silent" after what it believed was unfair and biased officiating in Egypt’s loss against Argentina.
Argentina's team had not acknowledged the complaints on officiating and FIFA. In previous press conferences, Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni had even advised journalists asking about the matter "not to consume so much social media."
But after the victory over England, the reigning champions fought back.
"Reaching two consecutive World Cup finals is something very few achieve, and this group did it," Messi said. "If we had lost to England, there would have been people coming out to spout some nonsense, but we didn’t give them the chance."
Wednesday’s semifinal was the latest chapter in a long-running feud that has transcended the field to encompass British control over the disputed Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas and claims as its sovereign territory.
The British government on Thursday urged FIFA to investigate Argentina’s team after players celebrating their victory over England posed with a banner handed over by fans, reading "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" — "The Malvinas are Argentine."
Enzo Fernandez acknowledged that his goal celebration, which leveled the score at 1-1, was aimed at Argentina's critics. The Chelsea midfielder first cupped his hands to his ears, a gesture interpreted in soccer as a challenge to critics. Then, he opened and closed his fingers, as if inviting them to keep talking.
"There was a lot of talk; it was a mix of euphoria and frustration," Fernandez said.
Scaloni, for his part, stated in the post-semifinal press conference that "this talk of ‘help’ will always exist; it doesn’t bother me."
"With VAR today, it’s very difficult to get help; it would have to be glaringly obvious. We knew there was no help."
Reporting by the Associated Press.
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