The punch was delivered at full time in the World Cup final after Ferran Torres’ goal in extra time helped Spain defeat Argentina at MetLife Stadium
Players clash after Spain beat Argentina in 2026 FIFA World Cup Americas final
Spain’s victory over Argentina at the World Cup was marred by disgusting scenes of punches being thrown at the final whistle. Leandro Paredes was sent off after receiving the whistle, and Molina also appeared to throw punches after the fight.
The latter took a blow at Rodri, while Paredes was also seen kicking Eric Garcia to the floor and pushing him back with his hand on the Barcelona defender’s neck as he tried to tackle him. He has also been seen interacting with Gabi.
Chaos reigned as Spain began jubilant festivities elsewhere on the pitch.
“Paredes threw a couple of haymakers in someone’s face. He targeted them,” Alan Shearer said. “There is no place or space to do that.
“We know how much it means to them and we know how much it hurts to lose. But there are ways to lose. We’ve seen it many times from Argentina. The reaction after the final whistle was terrible.”
Gary Neville had a simple assessment. “I love the competitiveness of the Argentina national team, but Paredes has been a disgrace in the last few games,” he said.
Wayne Rooney was not surprised by Argentina’s response to defeat. He said: “Does that surprise you? I’m not surprised. I think we’ve experienced something like this before against Argentina, but it’s just not the reaction you want.”
“I saw some of the reaction after we eliminated England in the final match. It’s disappointing because I think Enzo Fernandes deserved it too. But it’s just sad. When you lose a football match, you should walk away gracefully. Their attitude is very disappointing.”
World Cup final ended in chaos (Image: TV)
Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart added: “It’s disgusting. There was one classy guy on the pitch and that was Lionel Metz. He shook hands with all the Spanish players.”
“The game is over. They can’t complain at all about what happened today. It’s disgusting.
“I don’t think Rodri needed to get in their faces, but he was wound up for 120 minutes and he felt he was being treated unfairly and he felt the referee was on his back and when he got the win the referee blew the whistle and said, get out of there. And I think Argentina… Are you surprised that they crossed the line again?”
Micah Richards assured that the experts were unanimous in their assessment. He said: “The first yellow card didn’t come until after 40 minutes in the first half, but when you see something like that after the game is over and someone has just been crowned World Cup champion, it’s not good enough.”
Leandro Paredes and Eric Garcia exchange words after the 2026 FIFA World Cup final (Image: Al Bello/Getty Images)
“It’s pretty embarrassing to be honest. There’s Palaedes, he doesn’t have to do that, he’s better than that.
“And it doesn’t stop there, it keeps going, it keeps going. And we all know what it’s like to lose a game, we can be very frustrating and we understand that. But this is not enough, it’s not a good look at all.”
In a game that ended in a fiery ending, Paredes was lucky to stay on the pitch despite only entering at half-time. The Argentine star was lucky to remain on the field despite a number of questionable challenges.
In the World Cup runner-up match, Enzo Fernandes was sent off in the 93rd minute, sending the match into extra time with a one-man disadvantage. The tense match ended with Ferran Torres pulling away, and a European team became world champions for the first time since 2010.
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