Lautaro Martínez has rejected suggestions that Argentina’s players lacked commitment in the 2026 World Cup final, insisting the squad exhausted itself before Spain won 1-0 through Ferran Torres’s historic goal.
2026 World Cup Final
Argentina’s defeat brought scrutiny at home, including claims that the team had not given everything in the attempt to retain the trophy. Martínez, however, said Spain deserved the result and that the loss had to be accepted.
“Those theories are upsetting,” the Inter Milan forward said. “Spain were the better side, and eventually a defeat like this was going to happen.”
Martínez did not play in the final after Lionel Scaloni chose not to use him, despite the striker having scored a crucial goal against England in the semi-final. He said that exhausting match had taken a major physical toll on the group before the final.
“The England game drained so much energy from us,” he said. “We gave more than we had left there, and then again in the final.”
He pointed to teammates who had been forced off, including Nicolás Otamendi, Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martínez, as evidence of the effort made across the tournament. Gonzalo Montiel, Lionel Messi and Julián Álvarez were also among those he named while describing a squad that continued competing despite physical limits.
Martínez said some players were barely able to walk but still kept running, while Argentina retained a chance to win until the last action of the match. For him, that late resistance answered the doubts raised after the defeat.
“We are calm because the team showed what it gave,” he said. “It did not happen for us, but the opponent was superior.”
The forward, Argentina’s third-highest scorer of all time, also recalled the difficult route into the final. He had spent two months sidelined with an injury before the tournament, while several members of the squad arrived carrying fitness concerns.
Argentina’s knockout ties, including extra-time matches, added further fatigue. Martínez said the demands of chasing games, the pressure of supporters, the tension around the camp and the sense that every eye was on Argentina made the campaign especially draining.
By the final whistle of the last match, Martínez believed the squad had demonstrated its commitment, even though the World Cup could not be brought back to Argentina.
