Enzo Fernández finally addressed Argentina's World Cup final defeat on Monday night, more than 24 hours after his reckless late tackle left his team down to ten men in extra time — but the message he sent contained no reference to the sending-off itself.
Argentina lost the July 19 final 1-0 to Spain after extra time at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, a result that denied Lionel Messi the storybook ending to his international career and handed Spain a second World Cup title.
Fernández, booked once in the first half, picked up a second yellow card in second-half stoppage time for a reckless, studs-up challenge on Spain defender Pau Cubarsí as he chased a loose ball. The referee had little choice but to send him off, leaving Argentina to play the additional 30 minutes a man short.
The damage compounded after the final whistle. Midfielder Leandro Paredes was shown a separate red card once the match had already ended, after grabbing Spain's Eric García by the throat and wrestling Gavi to the ground in a mass confrontation at midfield — Argentina's second dismissal of the night.
Spain made the numerical advantage count. Substitute Ferran Torres scored the winner in the second period of extra time, finishing a move started by fellow substitute Nico Williams, to seal La Roja's second World Cup crown in a final in which Argentina failed to register a shot on target.
It was only the sixth red card shown in a World Cup final in the tournament's history, and the first since Zinedine Zidane's dismissal for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the 2006 final.
In his statement, posted to Instagram, Fernández made no mention of the tackle, the sending-off or its consequences for his team. Instead, he thanked Argentina's supporters and framed the tournament as a source of pride rather than regret.
"As time goes by, you understand there is something much bigger than a result," he wrote, adding: "Wearing my country's shirt is the greatest honor of my career, and I will continue to give everything I have every time I'm called upon to defend it."
The written message stood in contrast to his reaction in the moment. As he walked off the field immediately after his sending-off, Fernández had raised both hands toward the Argentina section of the crowd, an apparent gesture of apology that several outlets covering the match described as more contrite than anything in his eventual public statement.
For a Chelsea midfielder who has built his international career on Argentina's run of major-tournament success — the 2022 World Cup and Copa América titles among them — the final in New Jersey leaves a rare blemish: a red card in the biggest match of his career, and a public response that stopped short of an apology.
