After days of waiting in the Bolivian capital, Argentina defeated Bolivia (0-3) in the city of La Paz. Since Sunday, the residents of La Paz have been waiting for the World Cup team at the airport, around their hotel and even on the slopes around the stadium where Lionel Messi and Co. trained before Tuesday’s game. Tickets had already been sold out for two months, but the people of La Paz were not happy. Messi didn’t play, but Argentina still won in front of a full stadium. The anticipation with which the city awaited the Argentine team had spoiled the atmosphere before the game. “We can’t support two teams,” Bolivian captain Marcelo Martins Moreno (Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 36 years old) warned before the game. “We saw how they supported the Argentine team when they arrived. “We will talk about this topic after the game.”
The words of the Bolivian captain, the third top scorer of all time in South American qualifying, resonated with a section of the public. After days of searching for the Argentina team, hundreds of people from La Paz walked to the doors of their hotel on Monday evening to support their players. Not reached. Argentina dominated despite the fear at 3,600 meters above sea level, winning with goals from Enzo Fernández, Nicolás Tagilafico and Nicolás González. The world champion begins the duel with an ideal result. Bolivia, which has not played in a World Cup since 1994, has lost its two games and hopes of finishing one of the six and a half places shared by the 10 South American teams at the 2026 World Cup are already looking distant.
Bolivian striker Marcelo Martins Moreno, on Monday during a press conference in La Paz.LUIS GANDARILLAS (EFE)
Bolivia lost 5-1 to Brazil in their first game but were hoping to do well at home against Argentina. After decades of playoff failure, winning in La Paz is the team’s only good strategy. His last great pride also rests there: In April 2009, Bolivia defeated Argentina led by Diego Maradona 6-1 during Messi’s first visit to the country. Martins scored the first goal that afternoon.
Bolivians used to remember this feat whenever the Argentine team visited, but this year that has changed. Hundreds of Bolivian fans waited for their rivals on Sunday night at El Alto airport, about a 40-minute drive from central La Paz, and on Monday another handful climbed the slopes around The Strongest’s stadium in the south of the city to watch the Argentine training. Tickets for the game sold out in a single day at the end of July, which the Bolivian Football Association celebrated as a record. “Bolivia has no level! It is better to support the one who will win,” concluded a young Bolivian woman in an interview with the Argentine broadcaster TyC Sports. He wore the jersey of Messi’s new team Inter Miami.
Not all Bolivians surrendered to the rival and Messimania divided fans in the city of La Paz. The ire of critics focused on La Paz mayor Iván Arias over a mural and some banners his government put up to welcome the world champions. “Messi, you are great” and “Welcome, Champions” were the messages from the La Paz government to the Argentine team. The issue became the political agenda this Tuesday: on the wave of criticism, a city councilor announced that she would open an investigation into where the money for the banners came from, another went to the City Palace to present her with the jersey of the Bolivian national team give. and He demanded: “Let the Bolivians wear the jacket and not the Argentinians.” In the end, Arias asked for forgiveness.
“Do you think that the thousands of young people who waited at the airport, who went to sleep in front of the hotel last night or went to The Strongest stadium are boys who don’t love the national team?” the mayor said before the game questioned. “They are simply proud that they are coming to La Paz.” It could have been the love for the world champion, the anger over the failures of the local team or a unique opportunity: Bolivian football has been paralyzed since the beginning of the month. The federation just canceled this year’s professional tournaments after uncovering a “very serious corruption network” involving executives, referees and players fixing games. With the local league put on hold, Bolivians were deprived of the country’s most popular sport. They waited for Messi to calm their fears. They had to be content with him accompanying his teammates from the bench.
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