The web of geopolitical submission that Javier Milei's government tried to weave around the Malvinas cause ended up collapsing in the least expected place: the United States itself.

It all happened on the eve of the 2026 World Cup final between Argentina and Spain. US President Donald Trump and his administration directly confronted the Argentine president's stance, disavowing his unusual challenge to the national team and validating the historic claim of sovereignty on American soil.

The protection of the First Amendment against the challenge of the Casa Rosada

While Javier Milei was using microphones to call it an "unacceptable mistake" that the footballers displayed the banner with the message "The Malvinas are Argentine" —feared by supposed "very negative consequences" with the United Kingdom—, the White House came out to challenge the Anglo-FIFA censorship script.

Andrew Giuliani , one of the US president's top advisors, was emphatic in declaring that the Argentine soccer players were "fully within their rights" to display their sovereign message after their victory against England. To bury any attempt at sanctions by Downing Street, Giuliani invoked his country's most sacred legal doctrine: "We believe in the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution." In this way, the Washington administration itself framed the Argentine claim under the universal protection of freedom of expression, ridiculing the subservience of the Argentine government, which days earlier had sent its Minister of Security to coordinate the crackdown on flags and jerseys at the stadium entrances.

"Chiqui" Tapia with Trump and the fascination with Messi

The White House's disavowal of Milei's stance materialized at an exclusive reception hosted by FIFA in New York . There, the president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia, was among the select group of guests and was able to shake hands with the US president at a meeting of high political and sporting significance, which was also attended by Gianni Infantino .

During the event, Trump lavished praise on Scaloni and, especially, on Lionel Messi . Far from the formal protocol the libertarian government sought to impose under the premise that "a soccer game is just a soccer game," Trump demonstrated that he had closely followed the semifinal against England. "I saw that pass Messi made, and I know a thing or two about soccer," he remarked admiringly, brilliantly describing the play leading up to the goal that secured Argentina's qualification. The US president also enthusiastically asked Tapia if the team was capable of retaining the title won in Qatar in 2022.

The loneliness of colonized discourse

With this international setback, the Argentine government's strategy to de-Malvinize the islands has been left completely isolated. In less than 48 hours, the raising of the Argentine flag in Atlanta led the UK's leading newspaper ( The Guardian ) to demand an end to the diplomatic freeze and the return of the islands, and prompted the President of the United States to back the players' right to display the flag, citing his own Constitution.

The only one still frightened by the "consequences" of defending the homeland is Javier Milei . While world leaders bow to the dignity and football of the national team, the Argentine Executive Branch prefers to continue acting as the last guardian of British interests in the South Atlantic.

The flag was not a mistake; it was a victory of cultural sovereignty that neither the British Empire nor Milei's government could stop.