Spain may have booked their spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final, but one of the most attention-grabbing moments of the semifinal against France came off the pitch. As players made their way through the tunnels, Spanish player Eric Garcia found himself in a brief exchange with Argentinian reporters.
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The exchange was caught on video and shared on X by @CrewsMat10. In the video, as Garcia passes by a group of Argentinian reporters, he quickly fires off a few words at them: “You’re afraid.”
The reporters immediately clapped back at him, saying, “No, you’re afraid.”
The comment came ahead of Argentina’s clash with England in the semifinals, and it has quickly generated excitement for a potential World Cup final between Spain and Argentina.
The exchange between the two sides only lasted a few seconds as Garcia continued walking, but it was enough to catch attention online. For Garcia, this is perhaps his most significant moment in this World Cup. The FC Barcelona defender has not been able to see the pitch in any of his team’s games, despite taking steps to improve himself to get the call-up to the national team.
“December 2022, eliminated from the Qatar World Cup,” Garcia wrote on an X post before the 2026 tournament kicked off. “That was the last time I wore the national team jersey. Since then, I’ve had to make many decisions and work hard quietly to improve, both on and off the field, to get back to playing and competing for everything with my club, and four years later, the opportunity to experience my second World Cup has arrived.”
Leading up to the World Cup, Garcia had a strong season across 34 league games, 4 Copa del Rey Mapfre games, and 2 Spanish Super Cup matches. He has played nearly 4,000 minutes this season.
Though he has been largely watching from the sidelines, Spain has been quite successful in their World Cup campaign. They beat 2022 finalist France 2-0 in their semifinal matchup, advancing dominantly behind the efforts of Garcia’s club teammate, Lamine Yamal.
With Argentina looking to beat England to keep their hopes alive of repeating as World Cup champions, the exchange between Garcia and the reporters could end up being an early sign of a potential final matchup. With all this, Spain has reached its second World Cup final, and the first one since winning the title in 2010.
Interesting Fact: Spain and Argentina rarely play each other. In fact, the last time they came together was in 2018, for an international friendly.
