“The Hero’s Curse” haunts the World Cup champions

According to a report by the German News Agency, 6 groups have been affected by this curse since its inception World Cup In 1930, this phenomenon was spectacularly repeated in the final four editions of the competition.

Argentina is under a historical crisis

He enters Argentina national team Football, hero Qatar World Cup 2022the 2026 edition of the World Cup, amid fears of falling into the same trap, although the chances of that have been reduced by a new tournament system that gives the best third-place finishers the chance to qualify for the knockout stages.

And they play Argentina national team In the tenth group, together with the groups of Jordan, Algeria, and Austria, seeking to avoid the fate of the former champions who were struck by the “curse of the hero.”

Italy is the first victim

He was The Italian national team The first ball to be abused by the curse World Cup 1950 In Brazil, he was eliminated from the first round despite winning the title in the 1934 and 1938 editions.

The Italian team lost to Sweden 2-3, before defeating Paraguay, who finished second and left the tournament early.

The sudden collapse of Brazil

And in World Cup 1966 In England, fine Brazil’s national team The tournament ended in the first quarter despite having a star team led by Pele, after two losses to Hungary and Portugal.

France was shaken in 2002

The French football team faced a big surprise World CupIt was eliminated from the group in the 2002 World Cup in South Korea by Japan, four years after winning the title at home.

The French team, led by Zinedine Zidane, did not win, losing to Senegal and Denmark and drawing with Uruguay.

Italy came back

And he returned Italy Being in the same situation World Cup 2010 In South Africa, he finished bottom of his group with only two points, following two draws against Paraguay and New Zealand, and then a surprise loss against Slovakia.

The fall of Spain and Germany

And in World Cup 2014 In Brazil, he left The Spanish national team Early football after heavy losses to the Netherlands and Chile, although they kept many of the stars of the golden age that won the title in 2010.

As for the German football team, the champion of the 2014 World Cup, it became the sixth victim in the edition of Russia 2018, after losing to Mexico and South Korea, leaving the competition for the first time in many years.

Will Argentina survive?

As the installation approaches World Cup 2026All eyes remain on the Argentine national team to see if they will be able to break this old rule, or if the “hero’s curse” will add a new victim to its long list.