Raphinha blamed translator for the beef with Argentina
Brazilian star Raphinha has claimed that a translation error was responsible for the misunderstanding surrounding his alleged insult toward Argentina before their recent South American showdown.
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According to Argentine defender Nicolás Tagliafico, Raphinha clarified that his words were mistranslated from Portuguese, leading to the controversy. However, Tagliafico also confirmed that Raphinha has not issued an apology, even after Brazil suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat to Argentina in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
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Before the highly anticipated match, Raphinha was interviewed on Romario TV. When asked about his confidence in scoring, the 28-year-old boldly declared:
“I will score, and we will humiliate Argentina.”
However, once the game began, Raphinha was largely invisible on the pitch, while the reigning Copa América and World Cup champions completely outplayed his teammates.
Aside from a long-range effort by Matheus Cunha that reduced the deficit and a free kick by Raphinha that hit the crossbar, Brazil struggled to create chances. Argentina dominated the match, scoring four goals within the first 71 minutes and cruising to a 4-1 victory.
Throughout the game, the Barcelona winger was repeatedly targeted by Argentina’s players, both physically and through calculated provocations.
One particularly notable incident saw Argentina’s goalkeeper, Emiliano Martínez, deliberately collide with Raphinha, nearly triggering a reaction from the Brazilian. At one point, Real Madrid youngster Endrick had to intervene to prevent his teammate from losing his composure.
Despite the pre-match controversy, Argentina’s head coach Lionel Scaloni showed sportsmanship and dismissed the incident, stating:
“I forgive Raphinha. I know he didn’t mean to disrespect us.”
Argentina Secures 2026 World Cup Qualification After Crushing Brazil
With their commanding victory, Argentina became the first South American team to officially qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Scaloni’s squad now leads the South American qualifiers with 31 points from 14 matches, securing a comfortable gap over the seventh-placed team, Venezuela, who sit 16 points behind. Since the top six teams from the region automatically qualify, Argentina can afford to rest their key players in the remaining matches.
Despite their heavy defeat, Brazil remains in a strong position to secure a direct qualification spot. With 21 points, Raphinha and his teammates need only seven points from their final four fixtures against Ecuador, Paraguay, Chile, and Bolivia. Their path could become even easier depending on the results of other teams in the qualifiers.
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