Commanded by the star Lionel Messi, Argentina can win this Sunday (18), at 12:00 (Brasília time), the third championship in the World Cup in Qatar. If the number 10 and captain lifts the cup at the end of the duel, however, he will also be ending the sequence of European titles in the World Cup.
Since the Brazilian team won its fifth championship, in the Korea and Japan Cups, in 2002, only European teams celebrated, making Europe shoot ahead of South America in the sum of titles. Then they won: Italy (2006), Spain (2010), Germany (2014) and France (2018), totaling 12 titles, against 9 of the South Americans.
Historically, the duel has always been very balanced. The first champions, in 1930, were Uruguayans. In the following edition, Italy won. And the results were similar during 17 editions of the Cup in a row. When a continent was ahead in the number of accumulated titles, the other caught up in the next edition.
Everything changed after 2006. Italy tied the dispute and, in 2010, when Spain won its world title in South Africa, the score was 10 to 9 for the Europeans.
Following the historical pattern, the Cup held in Brazil in 2014 would have seen a South American champion and the score would have been the same, but Brazil fell by the wayside after the vexing 7-1 to Germany, and Argentina lost the final precisely to the Germans.
In the end, the fourth German championship took the accumulated European to 11 titles, a number that was increased by France in Russia. Now, in Qatar, if the French win the cup again, the European continent will open four conquests of advantage.
As a seasoned news journalist, I bring a wealth of experience to the field. I’ve worked with world-renowned news organizations, honing my skills as a writer and reporter. Currently, I write for the sports section at News Bulletin 247, where I bring a unique perspective to every story.
