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Pope Francis’ Confessions About the Three World Cups Argentina Won During His Lifetime
April 21, 2025 will be remembered as the day Pope Francis passed away — a global leader who never hid his love for football, just like any true Argentine. He was fortunate enough to witness Argentina win three World Cups during his lifetime.
Pope Francis’ World Cup Memories
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on December 17, 1936. By the time Argentina won its first World Cup in 1978, he was 41 years old. Although Argentina was under a dictatorship at the time, Pope Francis never publicly commented on that victory.
In 1986, he was 48 years old when Argentina, led by Diego Armando Maradona, claimed its second World Cup title. It was a bittersweet moment, as he later shared in an interview with Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport:
“I have a personal memory linked to the 1986 World Cup, the one Argentina won thanks to Maradona. I was in Frankfurt, going through a tough time, learning the language and gathering material for my thesis. I didn’t watch the final and only found out the result the next day, when a Japanese girl wrote ‘Viva Argentina’ on the blackboard during a German lesson.”
“I remember it as a lonely victory — I had no one to share that joy with. Solitude makes you feel alone, and what truly enhances joy is being able to share it.”
The third World Cup came while he was already Pope. In 2022, Lionel Messi and Argentina reached glory in Qatar. But once again, he didn’t get to watch the final.
In an interview with La Nación, he explained:
“I was meeting with five Alitalia pilots and their wives. They came to greet me, and we started chatting around 4 p.m. We talked about Argentine wine. I said, ‘I have some, want me to bring it?’”
“When I came back, they told me it was 3–2 or 3–1, I can’t remember. Later, I found out we won on penalties. That made me reflect on the Argentine psyche.”
He added:
“Maybe this doesn’t have a scientific basis, but I’ll say it anyway. We Argentines love a strong start, but sometimes we lack the consistency to finish the job. We were happy to win the first half and felt the match was already ours. But no — you have to fight until the very end. And we had to battle through penalties against both the Netherlands and France. We could benefit from a steady rhythm of progress — without getting bored, without giving up...”
