Argentina win World Cup: How Scotland played a historic role in Lionel Messi and co's extraordinary victory – Angus Robertson

The World Cup rightly belongs to Lionel Messi, his Argentinian team mates and their South American compatriots who have been celebrating as only they know how.
Argentina's players celebrate winning the Fifa World Cup (Picture: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)Argentina's players celebrate winning the Fifa World Cup (Picture: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Argentina's players celebrate winning the Fifa World Cup (Picture: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

It has been billed as the best ever World Cup final, in large part because of the highly praised Kylian Mbappé and his talented French side, but Argentina won out in the end. How fitting that Messi joins the pantheon of greatest-ever players as a World Cup winner and player of the tournament while Mbappé was the highest scorer.

Perhaps now in Scotland more will remember the key role played by Scots in establishing the game in Argentina. It was, after all, Alexander Watson Hutton from Glasgow, who in the 1890s established the Argentine Association Football League and is remembered as the father of Argentine football. The first Argentine league-winning side was St Andrews Scots School in Olivos, Buenes Aires Province.

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Scottish links to Argentinian football have continued through the decades: including the 1986 World Cup final when the first Argentinian goal against West Germany was scored by Jose Luis Brown, whose Scottish ancestors emigrated to Argentina in the 19th century.

Scotland’s connection to the present day Argentina side was personified in the World Cup winning team by midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, whose ancestors came from eastern Fife, before emigrating to Ireland and then Argentina.

Huge congratulations are in order to all of the victorious Argentina players as well as their French opponents who came so close to an amazing comeback having been down two-nil with just ten minutes to go.

Angus Robertson is the SNP MSP for Edinburgh Central and Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Secretary

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