Argentina will be the most hated team in the 2026 World Cup

An Argentinian media report, based on an analysis attributed to FIFA, revealed that the Argentinian national team topped the list of teams most targeted by hate messages on social media platforms during the 2026 World Cup. TyC Sports reported that the analysis encompassed over 17.1 million posts and comments across platforms such as X, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, covering the period from June 9 to July 20, 2026. The report showed an increase in online attacks against the Argentinian team as they progressed through the tournament. England, Spain, Brazil, and Norway followed Argentina in terms of the volume of abusive messages. According to the report, some of the criticism directed at coach Lionel Scaloni focused on allegations of benefiting from refereeing decisions. The report also noted that some comments overlapped with xenophobic rhetoric. At the player level, Argentinians ranked fourth among the most targeted national team players online, behind players from France, England, and Portugal. The report further explained that some of the abuse took on a racist character, targeting the African heritage of certain players. The report did not specify the name of the player who received the most hate messages during the tournament, in which the Argentine national team reached the final before losing to Spain, according to the information in the report.