{"id":653386,"date":"2025-12-25T03:30:33","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T03:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/653386\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T03:30:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T03:30:33","slug":"former-france-international-fires-blunt-message-at-lionel-messis-argentina-i-only-feel-hatred-toward-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/653386\/","title":{"rendered":"Former France international fires blunt message at Lionel Messi\u2019s Argentina: \u2018I only feel hatred toward them\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

France<\/strong><\/a> and Argentina<\/strong> delivered one of the most memorable finals in soccer history at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, a match that helped spark a lasting rivalry between the two nations. Now, with the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, a former France international has delivered a blunt message toward <\/strong>Lionel Messi<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s team: \u201cI only feel hatred toward them.\u201c<\/strong><\/p>\n

Les Bleus have emerged as one of the world\u2019s dominant national teams in recent years, entering the 2022 tournament with a chance to win back-to-back World Cups following their 2018 triumph. However, Messi\u2019s <\/strong>Argentina<\/strong><\/a> stood in their way, lifting the trophy in a dramatic final<\/strong> that ended in massive celebrations, scenes that former France striker Djibril Ciss\u00e9<\/strong> did not appreciate.<\/p>\n

During a live broadcast on L\u2019\u00c9quipe\u2019s official YouTube channel, which revisited the third anniversary of the 2022 World Cup final on December 18, Ciss\u00e9 watched Argentina\u2019s celebrations and did not hide his feelings on camera: \u201cI only feel hatred toward them.<\/strong>\u201c<\/p>\n

The former striker, who represented France at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, both ending in first-round exits, explained that the images following Argentina\u2019s victory triggered a strong reaction. \u201cAfter seeing those images, I was even angry. I feel a lot of hatred toward them. Clearly, today they are our main enemy<\/strong>,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

\"Djibril<\/p>\n

Djibril Cisse of France celebrating.<\/p>\n

Ciss\u00e9 also referenced the controversy surrounding Argentina\u2019s celebration of the 2024 Copa Am\u00e9rica, in which Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez was involved in a chant that drew criticism for its content. \u201cI don\u2019t understand how his teammates forgave him,<\/strong>\u201d Ciss\u00e9 said, questioning the Chelsea midfielder\u2019s situation.<\/p>\n

\"Lionel<\/p>\n

see also<\/p>\n

Lionel Messi tops prestigious 21st-century ranking ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady, LeBron James<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Now framing Argentina as France\u2019s primary rival, Ciss\u00e9 suggested a strong sense of revenge, expressing desires such as \u201cwinning the third star in Messi\u2019s last World Cup match<\/strong>\u201d and referencing \u201ctwo or three scores to settle with Argentina<\/strong>.\u201d With less than six months until the tournament begins, a potential final between La Albiceleste and Les Bleus is already being discussed, with one former French international helping fuel the narrative.<\/p>\n

When could Argentina and France meet at the 2026 World Cup?<\/p>\n

Drawn from Pot 1 in Groups I and J respectively and sitting near the top of the FIFA rankings, France and Argentina are considered two of the leading contenders to win the 2026 World Cup<\/strong>. As Ciss\u00e9 suggested, if both teams advance deep into the tournament, a matchup between them is possible.<\/p>\n

If both Argentina and France win their respective groups, they would be placed on opposite sides of the knockout bracket, meaning they could only meet in a potential final<\/strong>. A similar scenario, though less likely, would occur if both teams finish as runners-up in their groups.<\/p>\n

Without accounting for a third-place finish, the two sides could still meet before the final at MetLife Stadium in New York\/New Jersey. That scenario would occur if one team wins its group while the other advances as a runner-up<\/strong>, setting up a possible semifinal clash between France and Argentina.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"France and Argentina delivered one of the most memorable finals in soccer history at the 2022 World Cup…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":653387,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5309],"tags":[10105,2000,299,36,2746],"class_list":{"0":"post-653386","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-argentina","9":"tag-eu","10":"tag-europe","11":"tag-france","12":"tag-lionel-messi"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115778096625495061","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/653387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}