​Through to the 2026 World Cup semifinals via a handful of close calls and fortunate breaks, Argentina is looking to win its fourth straight major title. And while La Albiceleste may have had the people on their side in the past, this time, it feels much different. On December 18, 2022, Argentina wrote its name into the history books by clinching its third World Cup title, as well as its first since 1986. For most of the 1.5 billion people who tuned in, it was a fairytale the likes of which we had never seen. Lionel Messi, at 35 years of age and on the verge of ending his European football career, willed his team to victory and completed the one thing that was missing from his résumé.Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty ImagesAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut whereas the tournament in Qatar was an unbridled victory for football lovers who had spent the past two decades praying for fate to reward La Pulga with his much-coveted trophy, the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been rather different. Since the 2022 triumph, Argentina has already matched Spain’s mark from 2008 to 2012 by winning three major trophies in a row, and now, La Albiceleste has the chance to do something that no team has ever done before: win four straight.However, as the team closes in on destiny, there is a strong feeling of controversy that has shrouded its run in a rather unpleasant odor. Just how did Argentina go from the darlings of Qatar to becoming one of the antagonists in North America? Let’s take a look.Has Argentina benefitted from biased refereeing decisions this tournament? That’s certainly up for debate. What we do know, however, is that the underbelly of Argentine football is rotting. This was laid to bare by award-winning ESPN investigative reporter Steve Fainaru, who penned “The Dream Factory,” a sweeping investigative series and documentary exposing the dark realities of Argentina’s youth soccer pipeline.After beginning as a report on a specific 2018 sexual abuse scandal at one of Argentina’s top premier clubs, Fainaru’s investigation evolved into a systemic examination of Argentina’s entire youth soccer pipeline. He discovered how thousands of children leave their families at young ages to pursue professional dreams, only to face severe hardships like systemic exploitation, sexual predation, overcrowding, hunger, and deeply unsafe living environments.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPerhaps the most damaging revelation was the lack of accountability. Even when the police raided a facility and found three dozen boys living in a one-story house, even when they handed the culprit “El Zurdo” a 10-day eviction notice, he still remained in his job. He’s not the only one: countless men have been able to convince parents to let their kids into “pensiones,” where their children are made to accept a number of sacrifices in the pursuit of a footballing career.Some have been forced to eat chicken carcasses and rice laced with black bugs, if they