2026 World Cup: ‘It will take time for this wound to heal’ – Messi pens open letter after Argentina lose final to Spain

20 Jul 2026, 19:40 by Ifreke Inyang · Daily Post

Argentina captain, Lionel Messi, has penned an emotional letter to their supporters, after they were beaten 1-0 by Spain in the 2026 World Cup final.

Albiceleste, who came into the game as defending champions, failed to compete with Luis de la Fuente’s men.

Messi barely had a sniff all match and their chances of winning became slimmer, after Enzo Fernandez was shown a second yellow card in the 92nd minute.

Ferran Torres eventually smashed home the winner in the second half of extra time, as Spain won their second ever World Cup title.

In an open letter, Messi wrote: “The pain is immense, it will take time for this wound to heal.

“But I also choose to hold on to all the good things, all matches we turned around by giving everything and moments that will remain in our memories forever.

“I will always remember the support of an entire country that, together with the work and effort of this group, brought us back once again among the best teams in the world.

“Today, it is difficult to appreciate what we achieved… but this group has really reached two consecutive World Cup finals.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for every greeting and every message.

“Once again, we managed to come together as a country and stand united, sharing the immense pride of being Argentine.

“I also want to congratulate Spain on winning World Cup.”

2026 World Cup: ‘It will take time for this wound to heal’ – Messi pens open letter after Argentina lose final to Spain

You may like