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Football: London tabloid foresees Argentina will retain World Cup title

Argentina's path to the potential second-straight title is filled with South American rivals, as published by The Sun

Driven by the recent appointment of German Thomas Tuchel as the new manager of England's national football team, London's tabloid The Sun published Thursday a supercomputer study whereby reigning champions Argentina would retain their crown in the 2026 World Cup with a victory over Spain in the final. Uruguay would end up fourth after losing the Third-Place match 1-0 to Tuchel's squad.

Since it was focused on England's future rather than on Argentina's it was not clear whether the analysis took into account that Lionel Messi might have retired by the time the event is held in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

Other than that, English fans were reported to welcome Tuchel's 18-month contract with the Three Lions. According to the supercomputer's simulation, Tuchel would outperform his predecessor Gareth Southgate's best-ever World Cup effort on his first attempt, after losing 1-0 to Spain in the potential semifinal. In Russia 2018, England succumbed to Croatia in the semifinal and then again to Belgium for football's equivalent of a bronze medal. Southgate went on to reach two European Championship finals in 2021 and 2024 as well.

In The Sun's view, the former Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea FC, and Bayer Munich trainer has the “tactical nous, drive, energy, experience [and the] tangled love life” necessary to bring back England to football's top tier. English fans only hope that his messy love life does not interfere with his work. Now aged 51, Tuchel left his wife Sissi two years ago and fell into the arms of the Brazilian Nathalie Max, who is currently 37.

Tuchel will not be taking over England until Jan. 1, 2025, due to a prior engagement with Bayern Munich. Hence, he will not manage the team in next month’s Nations League against Greece and Ireland nor will he represent England for the draw in Zurich on Dec. 13.

In the virtual tournament, Tuchel's men scored 17 times -including a 3-0 rout of Paraguay in the group phase- and conceded just three. “In the remainder of the tournament, the supercomputer predicted that Argentina would win their second World Cup on the bounce - defeating Spain 1-0 in the final,” The Sun also said.

On the other end of the draw, Argentina's path to the potential second-straight title is filled with South American rivals: Venezuela, Colombia, and Uruguay. Only Portugal -With or without Cristiano Ronaldo?- would break the pattern.

In the case of Venezuela, it would be their first-ever appearance at a World Cup, if the supercomputer's simulation is right.