[Saba Sports News] According to British media reports, Argentina defender Nicolás Tagliafico staged a stunt of feigning injury during the World Cup final in an attempt to prevent Enzo Fernández from being sent off. Match footage shows the Argentine tried to deceive the referee into overturning the red card shown to Enzo, in an unbelievable sequence of events. In the 93rd minute, Enzo was booked for a reckless and clearly late sliding tackle that brought down Spain defender Pau Cubarsí, picking up his second yellow card of the match. He was subsequently dismissed after two cautions turned into a red card. Enzo protested furiously, insisting he had committed no foul, yet referee Slavko Vinčić’s decision was largely indisputable. Cubarsí was sent flying off balance in mid-air by the challenge. Footage reveals that just seconds after Enzo’s sliding tackle on Cubarsí, Tagliafico immediately pretended to be hurt, hoping to help the 25-year-old escape the red-card sanction. The left-back had been walking normally until he saw his teammate land in trouble. He promptly dropped to the ground, clutching his leg and feigning extreme agony.
However, this desperate ploy ultimately failed to alter Slavko Vinčić’s decision. No matter how hard they acted, they could not stop Enzo’s early exit from the match. Enzo’s red card capped off a dismal 90 minutes for Argentina, the eventual 2026 World Cup winners. Over the regulation 90 minutes, Argentina failed to register a single shot, while Spain unleashed 15 attempts on goal. In the end, Argentina succumbed in extra time.