Although the match had ended, the controversy sparked by it had just begun.
The Brazilian team and the Brazilian Football Confederation immediately filed an appeal with FIFA, demanding that the match be invalidated.
However, it was limited to the cancellation of medals; the outcome of the match was unlikely to be changed.
This decision could be considered a fifty-fifty split. While it preserved Am team's qualification for the final, it also dashed their hopes of an easy championship.
The world largely accepted this decision. After all, matches where over a dozen penalty kicks were missed were quite unappetizing to watch, yet one had to admire the exquisite tactics and strategy.
Meanwhile, upon receiving this news, Messi gathered all the players and informed them, "Gentlemen, FIFA's decision has been made. We will not be able to use the handball defense tactic in the final."
"I had anticipated this outcome, and I am quite happy to see it, because we cannot rely on this tactic to win the championship all the time."
"Even if we were to win the championship with it in the future, it would be difficult to gain the true recognition of fans and the world. They would believe we stole the World Cup title with a disgraceful tactic! Although we ourselves know how many penalty kicks player Wang Fanfan trained, and how much hardship he endured, this cannot be defined as a disgraceful tactic; it is merely playing to our greatest tactical strengths!"
"But now that FIFA has restricted us, we have no choice but to face reality and find other ways to win!"
"Fortunately, we have already defeated the strongest opponent, the Brazilian team. The winner between the Netherlands and France is weaker than Brazil, so this is the best outcome we could have hoped for."
"Moreover, after my careful study, both the Netherlands and France have very serious problems."
"Let's talk about the Netherlands first. The biggest problem with the Netherlands is their average performance. They are a team where everything is quite average, both in offense and defense. However, their average is higher than that of most teams, which is why they reached the semifinals. But our average is higher than the Netherlands', so if we play against them, you don't need to think about anything or set up any special tactics. Just bring out your usual strongest state and tactics to deal with it."
"Then there's France. Their biggest problem is that their players are too young. This French team, in order to win the World Cup, just like Argentina in 2022, sidelined all players who did not obey Mbappé, surrounding him with new players who admire Mbappé, obey his commands absolutely, and are willing to do anything for him."
"The advantage of doing this is greatly enhanced French unity, which is also an important reason why France has reached this stage. But the problem lies with these new players; they are too young. Once their offense is stalled during a match, they fall into a state of confusion and make many naive mistakes."
"This was the biggest difficulty I encountered when leading Argentina forward back then, but fortunately, I was quite articulate and could handle the psychological work of these players, so I was able to stabilize Argentina's morale at that time!"
"However, I don't believe Mbappé has such an ability. Once the offense is stalled, Mbappé will be absolutely unable to salvage the entire team's confidence. This is the key to us defeating France."
"Don't pay attention to Mbappé; we need to destroy the confidence of the other young players. Once they are finished, Mbappé will be finished too!"