Home / Sports / Martinez Slams Rigged World Cup Claims
Martinez Slams Rigged World Cup Claims
18 Jul
Summary
- Goalkeeper Martinez refutes claims of an easy World Cup path for Argentina.
- He clarifies Portugal's exit wasn't due to Argentina's strength.
- Former player Mikel dismisses FIFA favoritism for Messi.
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has publicly addressed claims suggesting a rigged path to the FIFA World Cup final for the defending champions. Martinez asserted that the team did not select their opponents and that their route was influenced by other matches, citing Portugal's inability to advance past Colombia, who were later defeated by Switzerland.
Martinez stated, "People saying we had an easy path to the final? We didn't choose our opponents." He further explained that their path was determined by outcomes like Colombia's win over Portugal and Switzerland's subsequent victory, leading to a match against Switzerland. He stressed that all World Cup matches are challenging and require adaptation.
Earlier this week, former player John Obi Mikel also commented on the rigged fixture theories. Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Mikel dismissed the accusations as "bullshit" originating from Ronaldo fans. He argued that if Portugal had won their games, they would have faced tougher opposition.
Mikel elaborated that Argentina "did their job, they won their games and they got into the easier route." He emphasized that FIFA is not favoring Lionel Messi, who is performing well, scoring goals, and breaking records. Mikel suggested that Argentina has a chance to win back-to-back titles if they play well in the final.
Argentina's current World Cup campaign, as of July 18, 2026, has seen them largely unbeaten since their opening match loss to Saudi Arabia in the 2022 edition. However, their path to the 2026 final has involved close contests in the knockout stages. They required extra time to defeat Cape Verde in the Round of 32 and came back from a 2-0 deficit against Egypt in the Round of 16 to win 3-2 with late goals.
Switzerland also pushed Argentina to extra time, even after playing with 10 men for a significant portion of the second half. In their semi-final match, England took an early lead, but Argentina secured their place in the final with two goals in the last nine minutes. They are set to face Spain in the FIFA World Cup final on July 19, 2026.
