Argentina's assistant coach also lashes out at Spain after the loss in the final

Argentina’s dream has been shattered. Lionel Scaloni’s team lost the World Cup final to Spain 0–1 in extra time, failing to defend their title as they had hoped. The frustration is immense—and some of the players took it out immediately after the final whistle.

That’s how Nahuel Molina ends up being the actual catalyst for a scuffle. The Atlético Madrid defender lands a punch on Rodri as the latter runs past him, celebrating. The Spaniard isn’t going to take that lying down and confronts Molina. Eric Garcia rushes to his teammate’s aid.

Assistant Coach Beats Olmo

That, in turn, brings Leandro Paredes into the fray. And the 32-year-old completely loses his temper. Paredes first lunges at Garcia and rains blows and kicks down on him. Then he also gets physical with Gavi, who had rushed over. For his outburst, Paredes is shown a red card after the final whistle.

"That's absolutely inexcusable," Mladen Petric said, criticizing the incident on SRF. "Things like that wouldn't have happened if the referee had stepped in sooner."

Argentiniens Bösewicht

Paredes rastet nach Final-Pleite komplett aus und löst Rudelbildung aus

But that’s not all. When a scuffle breaks out, the Argentine coaching staff also rushes onto the field. While head coach Lionel Scaloni tries to mediate and separate the quarreling players, assistant coach Roberto Ayala has something else in mind. Videos on social media show the 53-year-old striking Spain’s Dani Olmo and hitting him in the neck.

Olmo stays calm and, for his part, doesn't let himself get drawn into a physical altercation. For Ayala, the incident has no immediate consequences. However, the player—who has made 115 appearances for the national team—faces potential repercussions.

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