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NEW DELHI: Cristiano Ronaldo found himself at the center of a new controversy surrounding the 2026 FIFA World Cup after his verified Instagram account liked a post accusing FIFA of helping Lionel MessiArgentina reached the final. The incident added to a tournament that has already seen several controversies, including protests involving Iran, criticism over ticket prices, visa issues, Balogun’s suspended red card and an intervention by US President Donald Trump.Ronaldo has not publicly explained why he liked the post, but screenshots showing his verified account, @cristiano, among those who liked the video quickly spread on social media.
The video was posted on Instagram by the Spanish television account Espejo Público before the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina.The video featured journalist Pilar Rodríguez Losantos, questioning Argentina’s path to the finals and making serious accusations against FIFA.
She said: “Argentina is a team that should have been eliminated about five games ago, with the help of FIFA, which is one of the most corrupt institutions on planet earth.”Argentina began their World Cup title defense with a 3-0 win over Algeria, with Lionel Messi scoring a hat-trick. They followed it up with a 2-0 win over Austria, where Messi recovered from an early penalty miss to become FIFA World Cup’s all-time top scorer.A much-changed Argentina then defeated Jordan 3-1 with Messi coming off the bench to score as the defending champions finished top of their group.In the round of 16, they beat Cabo Verde 3-2 after extra time. Lisandro Martinez put Argentina ahead in extra time before Cabo Verde equalized again. Cristian Romero’s header, deflected into the net by Diney Borges, eventually sealed the win.The round of 16 against Egypt brought another dramatic comeback. Argentina recovered from two goals down to win 3-2, with Enzo Fernandez completing the turnaround. The emotional win left Messi in tears as Argentina avoided early relegation.In the quarterfinals, Argentina defeated Switzerland 3-1 after extra time. Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring before Dan Ndoye equalised. Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez scored in extra time against a 10-man Swiss team.The defending champions then staged a late comeback in the semi-final, beating England 2-1. Enzo Fernandez equalized five minutes before Lautaro Martinez scored the winner in injury time to send Argentina to another World Cup final.Argentina’s hopes of retaining the World Cup ended in the final.Spain beat Lionel Scaloni’s side 1-0 after extra time, with substitute Ferran Torres scoring the only goal of the game in the 106th minute to give La Roja their second World Cup title.
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