The Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes was at the center of one of the most embarrassing moments of the 2026 World Cup final when he assaulted two Spanish players just seconds after the whistle that ended the match in which Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in overtime, with a goal by Ferran Torres, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
According to reports from the international press, as soon as the whistle blew, Paredes confronted defender Eric García, grabbed him by the neck violently, and began to argue with him in front of the cameras from the official tournament broadcast.
The coach Lionel Scaloni intervened immediately to separate the two players, but the situation didn't end there.
Gavi, García's teammate at FC Barcelona and in the Spanish national team, stepped in to defend his colleague and confront the Argentine midfielder. Thiago Almada initially tried to stop him, but Paredes knocked Gavi to the ground, placed his hand on his face, and shoved him against the grass.
Finally, the arrival of the other players from both teams and the presence of Scaloni prevented the incident from escalating further at a moment of high tension.
The images, captured by the official broadcast of the World Cup, went viral on social media and sparked widespread outrage, with descriptions such as "lamentable," "embarrassing," and "unacceptable" directed at the behavior of the Boca Juniors player.
Paredes was not the only Argentine to be involved in a tense exchange after the final whistle. Captain Nicolás Otamendi refused to shake hands with Rodri and confronted him harshly: "You've been crying all week, you and Laporte, all week conditioning," referring to the complaints about refereeing that the Spanish players had expressed before the final. Otamendi also turned down the handshake from Mikel Oyarzabal.
The match was also marked by the expulsion of Enzo Fernández in the 93rd minute for a second yellow card, which left Argentina with 10 men for the entire extra time and facilitated Spain's decisive goal.
Paredes' behavior has direct precedents. In the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, during the quarter-finals against the Netherlands, he intentionally kicked the ball towards the Dutch bench, triggering a pitch invasion. In 2024, he publicly acknowledged that he acted "with bad intentions." "Now we can say it," he affirmed at that time.
In the 2026 World Cup itself, during the quarter-finals against Switzerland, Paredes was pointed out for simulating a foul on Breel Embolo, which led to the expulsion of the Swiss forward for a second yellow card confirmed by VAR in the 72nd minute.
Spain was crowned world champion for the second time in its history, 16 years after its first title in South Africa 2010, in front of 82,500 spectators in New Jersey.
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