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Thousands of Argentina supporters gathered at the iconic Obelisk in Buenos Aires on Sunday night to celebrate their national football team's FIFA World Cup campaign despite a heartbreaking 1-0 extra-time defeat to Spain in the final.
Waving Argentine flags, singing chants and dancing in Plaza de la Republica, fans turned the city's traditional football gathering point into a celebration of the team's run to a second consecutive World Cup final. According to Reuters, an Argentina supporter, Isaac Lambaro, said the national team demonstrated grit until the last minute of the tense match, which was played at New York New Jersey Stadium in the US. South American football governing body CONMEBOL also acknowledged the emotional scenes, sharing a video of the celebrations on X with the caption, "Despite the result, Argentina valued its team's campaign." https://x.com/CONMEBOL/status/2079031851859984679?s=20 Argentina's hopes of becoming the first nation in 64 years to successfully defend the FIFA World Cup ended after Ferran Torres struck the winner in the 106th minute of extra time to hand Spain a 1-0 victory and their second world title. The defending champions had spent much of the final under pressure as Spain dominated possession and created the better chances, but goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez kept Lionel Scaloni's side in the contest with a series of outstanding saves. The match swung further in Spain's favour during second-half stoppage time when Enzo Fernandez was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge on Pau Cubarsi, forcing Argentina to play extra time with 10 men. Spain thought they had taken the lead early in the additional period through Nico Williams, only for the goal to be disallowed for a foul in the build-up. Torres eventually broke the deadlock six minutes later, latching onto Williams' knockdown before firing into the roof of the net. The victory secured Spain's first World Cup title since 2010 and extended Luis de la Fuente's side's unbeaten international run to a European-record 38 matches. For Argentina, the defeat ended an impressive title defence that had raised hopes of back-to-back World Cup crowns following their triumph in Qatar four years earlier. It also marked what is widely expected to be Lionel Messi's final appearance on football's biggest stage. Despite the disappointment, the mood in Buenos Aires reflected pride rather than despair, with supporters choosing to honour a team that reached another World Cup final and remained in contention until Ferran Torres' decisive extra-time strike settled the contest. (ANI)
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