Argentina declares national holiday after losing World Cup final

Javier Milei has declared Argentina will celebrate its World Cup campaign with a national holiday on a day of the team’s choosing, despite the final ending in defeat.It was a challenging afternoon for Lionel Scaloni’s side, who finished the 120 minutes without a shot on target and played much of the evening with ten men after Enzo Fernandez was shown a second yellow card.It is not an unusual custom for a country to celebrate winning the World Cup with a national holiday - Keir Starmer had promised a bank holiday had England ended their 60 years of hurt.It is less common to celebrate a second-place finish with a holiday, though Argentina will do exactly that.President Milei wrote in a post on X: “Given the concern about the celebrations for the achievement reached by the Argentine National Team, I inform the population that, depending on what the Players and the Technical Staff decide regarding the day to celebrate, it will be declared a national holiday.”It remains to be seen when that holiday will be celebrated.The post has sparked confusion among Argentinian citizens, with some wondering whether the post had been made in error. Others pointed out that World Cup celebrations might be unlikely as players turn attention to preparing for the club season, while some joked a day of national mourning might be more fitting, given the result.Milei eulogised the campaign in a separate post, adding: “Thank you so much, players. (We fought) until the end with our boots on. Argentina always at the top.”Milei did not attend the World Cup final, citing his superstitious nature