2026 Argentina = 2024 Chiefs

History has a funny way of repeating itself.

When Spain clinched their country’s second men’s World Cup title in extra time on Sunday over reigning world champions Argentina, it was a great story, for sure. But it was also very… predictable. Why? Because Argentina’s 2026 World Cup final run was eerily similar to the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2024-25 season that ended with a Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Check it out:

Both teams were chasing history

Had Argentina been able to beat Spain, they would have been the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cups.

Had the Chiefs been able to overcome the Eagles, they would have been the first team EVER to win 3 straight Super Bowls.

Unfortunately, neither team managed to seal the deal.

Both teams were led by an All-Time Great

Lionel Messi is widely regarded as the greatest player in soccer history. He’s got eight Ballons d’Or, six European Golden Shoes, 46 team trophies, has been named the world’s best player by FIFA eight times, has scored the second-most goals and has the most assists of any player in soccer history.

On the flip side, while Tom Brady is seen as the greatest football player in NFL history, you could argue that’s only because Patrick Mahomes’ story is still being written. Before the age of 30, Mahomes had as many Super Bowl rings as Brady (3), one more Super Bowl MVP, two more league MVPs, and two more All-Pro nods. Assuming health, it’s

not unreasonable to expect that Mahomes can challenge Brady’s claim as The GOAT.

Having an all-time great leading the charge allowed both Argentina and the Chiefs to strike fear in their opponents before the game even started just based on aura alone - and you saw it play out in real time on a game-by-game basis.

Neither team was as good as their record

During Argentina’s run to the final, at no point did you get the sense that they were winning these games because they were the ‘better team’. Every win was done by the skin of their teeth. Case in point: Argentina scored eight goals after the 85^th minute during the tournament – a World Cup record. What’s more, the phrase ‘FIFA – Fix It For Argentina’ was trending during almost every one of their matches. And that sentiment was shared by fans and opponents alike. In fact, Egyptian manager Hossam Hassan said their match against Argentina was ‘a fix’ before adding that that FIFA ‘wants Messi to stay in the tournament’, while Swiss head coach Murat Yakin described the referee’s controversial use of VAR to send off one of his players against Argentina as ‘unacceptable’.

During Kansas City’s run to the Super Bowl, the Chiefs won an NFL-record 11 games by one score or less. And while there was a large segment of football fans that believed Kansas City had the refs in their back pockets, the consensus at the time was that they were more lucky than good. In Week 2, they beat the Cincinnati Bengals by one point thanks to a controversial pass interference penalty on 4^th-and-16 to set up the game-winning field goal; In Week 10, they blocked a 35-yard field goal to preserve a two-point win over Denver; In Week 13, they beat Las Vegas by two points after the Raiders botched the snap on a game-winning field goal; and In Week 14, the Los Angeles Chargers’ game-winning field goal doinked off the upright. 

It’s been said that both the World Cup tournament and the NFL season have a ‘survive and advance’ feel. Such is life in a one-and-done format. Unfortunately for Argentina and Kansas City, their magical runs came to a crashing halt in the championship game.

A Championship Game No-Show

Don’t let the 1-0 final score fool you, Spain absolutely dominated Argentina in the championship match. They almost doubled-up the time of possession and out-passed Messi’s crew 845-433. What’s more, the Spaniards out-shot the Argentinians 20-1, and Argentina didn’t even register their first shot on goal until the 117^th minute. Were it not for goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez’ World Cup final-record 11 saves, Argentina may have lost this game by three or four goals. It was truly a demolition of epic proportions. 

The same could be said about the Chiefs’ Super Bowl loss to the Eagles. The final score may have showed 40-22, but that was in no way indicative of how the game actually played out. In the first half, Kansas City had zero points, just one first down, 23 total yards and two turnovers. Hell, the Chiefs didn’t convert a single third down through the first 44 minutes of game action. Were it not for a pair of garbage time touchdown passes from Mahomes, Kansas City would have lost by five touchdowns.

Despite how things may have ended, both Argentina and Kansas City should feel proud of the runs they made. Not everybody can say they had a chance to be crowned a champion, much less being one win away from making history in their respective sports.