Soccer in Argentina has always been much more than a sport. And the 2026 World Cup, in the context of economic adjustment and social tension, confirms it with numbers. According to a survey of Giacobbe Consultants held between June 5 and 10 on 2,500 cases throughout the country and with a margin of error of 2%, almost two-thirds of Argentines admit that the tournament produces some distancing effect on them with respect to their daily concerns: he 46.9% He says that he gets a little distracted but he doesn’t forget the problems, while the 14.5% He directly states that he forgets everything. At the other extreme, the 37.9% He maintains that the World Cup fails to make them forget any of their problems.
The anesthetic effect of football also has a gender interpretation: among men, the percentage of those who say they forget completely rises to 18.7%almost double that among women (10.6%). And by age group, it is the youngest – between 16 and 30 years old – who feel it the most: 20.6% of that group says to forget everything, in front of the 7.6% of those over 51.
In this framework, the globalist faith is overwhelming. He 71.5% of those surveyed believe that the Selection conducted by Lionel Scaloni He is going to be champion again. A number that not only expresses sporting enthusiasm, but also an emotional commitment in an election year full of uncertainty.
However, the illusion has a clear limit: money. When asked what they would prefer for the next four years, the 48.8% chose that Argentina improve economically even if it does poorly in the World Cup, compared to the 44.2% that he would prefer to be champion even if the economy does not improve. The court and the wallet play almost on equal terms, but the pocket wins on points.
As for the figures, the study reveals a map of adhesions and rejections without nuances. Lionel Messi accumulates a positive image of the 90.9%with a slight drop from the 96.7% registered in December 2022 after the title in Qatar. For his part, the DT Lionel Scaloni has a 92.3% positive image, and is chosen by the 81.7% as the coach with the greatest merit in the history of the National Team, above Carlos Bilardo (11.5%) and César Luis Menotti (3.9%). The most striking contrast is carried out by the president of the AFA, Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia: your negative image reaches the 42.7% and the 44.8% of those surveyed consider that they should not attend the tournament given that it is being investigated by Justice.
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