{"id":19084,"date":"2026-07-20T07:21:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T07:21:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=19084"},"modified":"2026-07-20T07:21:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T07:21:49","slug":"argentine-newspaper-suggests-enzo-fernandez-isnt-the-only-reason-for-world-cup-final-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=19084","title":{"rendered":"Argentine newspaper suggests Enzo Fernandez isn&#8217;t the only reason for World Cup final loss"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-377783\">\n<div class=\"article-follow\">\n<div class=\"article-sharing google-follow\">  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/wp-content\/themes\/grv-media\/img\/google-discover.svg\" alt=\"\"\/> <span>Add as preferred source on Google<\/span>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez let Argentina down on Sunday in their 1-0 World Cup final defeat to Spain.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Fernandez was sent off just before extra time after picking up a very avoidable second yellow card.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-grvmedia-grv-video GRVMultiVideo\"\/>\n<p>The 25-year-old flew into an unnecessary challenge and had no chance of actually winning the ball.<\/p>\n<p>His first caution was also avoidable, with the Argentine picking it up for dissent, which would not have surprised Chelsea fans too much.<\/p>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"5a9c74ee-9dfb-4c17-80a3-f12c2bcadb5e\" data-story-name=\"Talk Chelsea\" data-comment-id=\"121cf7ed-13c7-4980-aeab-39d0d8987c6c\" data-story-slug=\"talk-chelsea\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__inner\">\n<header class=\"grv-talking-point__header\">  <\/header>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__content\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__cta\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-wrap\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-content\">\n<h3 class=\"grv-talking-point__title\">What\u2019s your message to Enzo Fernandez after his costly red card in the World Cup final?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"grv-talking-point__subtitle\">He picked up 14 yellow cards for Chelsea last season \ud83d\udfe8<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__embed\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286204551-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Enzo Fernandez of Argentina is shown a Red card\" class=\"wp-image-377786\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286204551-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286204551-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286204551-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286204551-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286204551-1140x760.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286204551-750x500.jpg 750w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - JULY 19: Enzo Fernandez of Argentina is shown a Red card and sent off by referee Slavko Vincic during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Richard Sellers\/Sportsphoto\/Allstar via Getty Images)\">Photo by Richard Sellers\/Sportsphoto\/Allstar via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Last season, Fernandez picked up multiple yellow cards for the same reason. Discipline was an issue for him and Chelsea, and it has been the same theme for him on the international stage.<\/p>\n<p>One Argentine newspaper, though, is not putting the sole blame on the former Benfica man. Ole has been quick to highlight all the injuries that Lionel Scaloni\u2019s side picked up during the game and the timing of their substitutions. <\/p>\n<p>However, Fernandez still has to take a hard look at himself. Who knows what the final score would have been had he remained on the pitch.<\/p>\n<p>After going 1-0 down in extra time, even with 10 men, Argentina started to get more of a grip on the game and became more offensive. With Fernandez\u2019s quality, maybe they would have been able to equalise or not have conceded in the first place.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-getty-images-media\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286257901-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Ferran Torres of Spain scores a goal\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286257901-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286257901-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286257901-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286257901-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286257901-1140x760.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286257901-750x500.jpg 750w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - JULY 19: Ferran Torres of Spain scores a goal to make it 1-0 during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026 in East Rutherford, United States. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA\/Getty Images)\">Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt \u2013 AMA\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Whether the Argentina international is at Chelsea, Real Madrid or another club next season, it is clear that he has to work on his discipline.<\/p>\n<p>Last term, Fernandez picked up 14 yellow cards in 54 appearances. In the Premier League, he received 10 in 36 outings.<\/p>\n<p>Despite that, Fernandez is a player Chelsea will still want to keep. He is one of the best midfielders in European football and is capable of scoring goals.<\/p>\n<p>And with Real Madrid claiming they are not interested in Fernandez, maybe the Blues will be able to keep hold of their \u00a3100m footballer.<\/p>\n<div class=\"see-more-wrapper lazy see-more-open see-more-blank extra-content\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/news\/argentine-newspaper-suggests-enzo-fernandez-isnt-the-only-reason-for-world-cup-final-loss\/none\" data-type=\"subscribe\">\n<div class=\"see-more subscribe\">\n<figure class=\"newsletter\">\n<div><svg class=\"loading\" width=\"118\" height=\"36\" viewbox=\"0 0 118 36\"><use href=\"#dots-svg\"\/><\/svg><\/p>\n<div class=\"signup\"><span class=\"hf\">Join Our Newsletter<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><script>grvLoadAnalytics = () => {(function(d,s,i){var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)(0),j=d.createElement(s);j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtag\/js?id=\"+i;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(document,'script','G-E7VRWQHDP6');(function(d,s,i){if(!\/callback=in\/.test(window.location.search)){var e=d.createElement(s);var n=d.getElementsByTagName(s)(0);e.type=\"text\/javascript\";e.async=true;e.src=\"https:\/\/static.chartbeat.com\/js\/chartbeat.js\";n.parentNode.insertBefore(e,n);}})(document,\"script\",\"G-E7VRWQHDP6\");(function(){let s=document.createElement(\"script\");s.async=true;s.dataset.domain=\"thechelseachronicle.com\/MFj4XQ\";s.src=\"https:\/\/api.publytics.net\/js\/script.manual.ping.min.js\";document.getElementsByTagName(\"head\")(0).appendChild(s);})();if(!\/callback=in\/.test(window.location.search)){setTimeout(function(){!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');fbq('init','663509325503632');fbq('track','PageView');fbq('track','ViewContent',{content_name:'Argentine newspaper suggests Enzo Fernandez isn&#8217;t the only reason for World Cup final loss',content_category:'News',content_ids:(377783,\"enzo-fernandez\",\"world-cup\"),content_type:'post',});},3000);}}<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Add as preferred source on Google Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez let Argentina down on Sunday&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}