Spanyol Juara Piala Dunia 2026 Usai Tekuk Argentina

Tim nasional Spanyol berhasil keluar sebagai juara Piala Dunia 2026 usai mengalahkan Argentina dengan skor tipis 1-0 pada laga final yang berlangsung selama 106 menit. Pertandingan penentu yang digelar setelah rentetan 104 laga di 16 kota tersebut diselesaikan lewat gol tunggal di masa perpanjangan waktu.

Kekalahan ini memicu rumor perubahan besar di kubu Argentina usai Pelatih Lionel Scaloni mengisyaratkan bakal mundur dari jabatannya akhir tahun ini.

"I will continue as Argentina coach until December… then probably I will stop," kata Pelatih Argentina Lionel Scaloni.

Keputusan tersebut diambil usai ia merasa perlu mempertimbangkan masa depannya setelah membawa Argentina menjuarai edisi 2022 lalu.

"I will talk to the president [of the soccer federation]," kata Lionel Scaloni.

Scaloni menambahkan bahwa dirinya memerlukan waktu pribadi untuk memikirkan kelanjutan karier kepelatihannya.

"I believe it's only fair that I can take this time for myself to think this through. I never thought I would get to this place and it's wonderful," kata Lionel Scaloni.

Ia menyoroti besarnya tantangan yang harus dihadapi jika memilih bertahan untuk membangun ulang skuad Argentina.

"In order to continue, you need a great deal of things: resetting your mind, rebooting, creating a group like this again — that is very difficult," kata Lionel Scaloni.

Selain masa depan Scaloni, keberlanjutan karier Lionel Messi di tim nasional juga menjadi sorotan mengingat usianya yang telah menginjak 39 tahun.

"He's 39 years old now," kata Lionel Scaloni.

Scaloni menegaskan bahwa keputusan untuk pensiun sepenuhnya berada di tangan sang kapten.

"It was crystal clear for me that he was going to play up until he decided not to," kata Lionel Scaloni.

Ia juga melayangkan pujian tinggi atas dedikasi serta kontribusi luar biasa kaptennya selama bertanding di lapangan hijau.

"I hope that everyone feels proud of him, of what he's achieved, because he's the best football player ever to set foot on a pitch. I have no doubt about this, and what he did during this World Cup was incredible. But also what he did before this," kata Lionel Scaloni.

Sementara itu, euforia final turut dirasakan ribuan pendukung di Restoran Recess, West Loop, Chicago, yang memadati lokasi nonton bareng meski area dalam ruangan telah penuh.

"I've never seen a crowd like this for any kind of sport. It's insane," kata Warga Niles Danna Aburmishan.

Suasana meriah juga dirasakan oleh para wisatawan asing yang sengaja datang untuk menyaksikan penutupan turnamen tersebut.

"This is unbelievable to come here and see like the weather here and the massive screens out here we wouldn't get this at home," kata Wisatawan asal Irlandia Jack Kelly.

Pihak pengelola restoran menyatakan bahwa antusiasme penonton kali ini sangat tinggi hingga kapasitas ruangan dipenuhi rombongan acara privat.

"Mexico. Mexico came hard. Wish Mexico won but…," kata Warga Burbank Maia Quintanilla.

Keterbatasan tempat membuat sejumlah penonton terpaksa tertahan di luar area utama dan menyaksikan laga melalui ponsel pintar.

"Most of our friends were inside. We were just 10 minutes late, so they got in and we couldn't get in the line and that's how we are stuck here for like more than 90 minutes now," kata Warga Lincoln Park Shubham Das.

Das menyebut siaran di ponselnya justru menyajikan tayangan lebih cepat dibandingkan layar besar di dalam lokasi acara.

"We are getting it before them, yeah, so like our Internet is working much, much, much faster than them," kata Shubham Das.

Para pendukung di Chicago berharap kota mereka dapat terpilih sebagai salah satu tuan rumah jika Piala Dunia kembali digelar di kawasan Amerika Utara.

"Like, at the end of the day, Chicago will be in the next one, then on the U.S. has it again, Chicago will be in it," kata Warga Pilsen Rumsey Yasin.

Harapan serupa dilontarkan oleh pendukung lokal lainnya yang menilai kesiapan fasilitas kota dalam menggelar ajang olahraga internasional.

"Chicago is a beautiful city. We need a World Cup game," kata Danna Aburmishan.