"And is this news?" is the question we often see in comments on gossip and pop culture news. And, obviously, they are not news that occupy the front pages of newspapers, but they are questions that we often discuss with friends or family around a table or at the bar counter. And this is what we do in this podcast: we move to a venue to review some social chronicle news that serve not only to keep up with the most prominent gossip, but also to talk about love, friendship or breakups.

The 2026 World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, which was decided by a 1-0 Spanish victory, left several controversies beyond the result. From refereeing decisions to post-match incidents, including the unexpected prominence of Donald Trump, these are some of the scenes that have generated the most controversy.

Sixteen years later, Spain has once again been proclaimed world champion. A goal from Ferran Torres in the second half of extra time was enough for the Spanish team to defeat Leo Messi's Argentina, who were left with one less player after Enzo Fernández's expulsion. The match was highly anticipated: Messi versus Lamine Yamal, and two teams with completely opposite styles. The political aspect of the confrontation is also significant. The final was played in the United States of America, and Donald Trump was present at the MetLife Stadium. Spain and the United States currently have a tense relationship, while Javier Milei's Argentina is much closer to the American magnate.

The eve of the 2010 World Cup final, hundreds of thousands of Catalans demonstrated on Passeig de Gràcia against the ruling that the Constitutional Court had just issued on the Statute. The front pages of that Sunday were quite graphic: a huge Catalan protest and, next to it, a huge Spanish hope, due in large part to the talent of players made at Barça.Sixteen years later, history has repeated itself with a reheated flavor: the Spanish justice's indifference to the ECJ's ruling on the amnesty, and the news that the Spanish government invested more than double last year in Madrid (20.9%) than in Catalonia (8.6%) have arrived at the same moment that newspapers around the world were explaining on their front pages the story of two players made at La Masia who have become World Cup icons, with the Spanish team a stone's throw from glory.In terms of political and economic power, then, we are where we were, even though we tried to make an impressive solo escape. The same can be said of Spain, which is where it was, going its own way, mistress of the ball, which combines two games: either repression or stick and carrot, both with a similar result: despite rubbing against 20% of Spanish GDP with one hand tied behind its back, which is a remarkable feat, the stagnation of Catalans is a fact.Repression or the stick and carrot are taken for granted. The variable that must change so that when another World Cup arrives we don't have to repeat headlines is knowing how to convert our proven capacity in so many areas into a strategy for political power, and the first step should be a concertation of interests that makes it more difficult for the owners of the ball.

“Girona pride helps you go further and never stop. Having three players with a past at Girona who can be starters in the World Cup final means a lot to the club. It is the result of good work, effort, and the perseverance of many people,” Santi Pou, a member of the sports management of the red-and-white entity and part of Quique Álvarez's coaching staff, assures ARA.

The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, will not attend the final live in New York due to superstition. He has confirmed that so far he has watched all the World Cup matches at Las Oliveras (his presidential residence) with his sister and that he will continue to do so. When I read the news, I remembered an acquaintance from the neighborhood, a very nice guy who has an old dog named Lola, and who last Wednesday before the semi-final match against England, and in the middle of the heatwave, they were walking at noon with the Argentina jersey on, him and the dog. When I commented that poor Lola, that she was roasting, he said: “It’s for superstition.” “Ah, okay! Then I won’t say anything,” I replied.

Television viewers are accustomed to seeing the familiar bug in a corner of the screen, the logo that reminds us at all times which channel we are watching. In mobile telephony, there is an equivalent: the Service Provider Name (SPN), the text that indicates which network the terminal is connected to and that appears in the top status bar, alongside indicators such as coverage or battery level.

Sixteen years later, Spain will play the final of a World Cup again. The 2-0 victory against France unleashed euphoria among Spanish fans and also among some of the country's best-known faces. From the royal family to political leaders, including the 2010 world champions, who watched the semi-final in Dallas, celebrations were not long in coming.

With flags on the pitch the size of half a field, starters and substitutes coming onto the field preceded by the flags of each country and lined up to sing the national anthems, heads of state in the stands, film and music stars occupying inaccessible seats and dressed in the national team jerseys, commentators losing their voices to hoarseness in the epic of patriotic pride... The World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada has pushed the limits of what we know as banal nationalism to turn it into mainstream nationalism.

A goal from Oyarzabal, a penalty, and another from Pedro Porro, allowed the Spanish team to defeat France and reach the World Cup final. For the second time in its history, La Roja will play the title match, and will do so after demonstrating, like in 2010, that a great generation of footballers is not enough, but that the key to success is for all the stars to play for the team. A very young generation of fearless players who are not afraid of anything, not even what, on paper, was the deadliest attack of all. It turns out that France was unable to score and it is Spain who reaches the title match with immaculate defensive statistics: they have only conceded one goal in the entire competition.

Messi was about to follow Cristiano Ronaldo’s path home this Tuesday. Both ended up crying, but the Argentine did so out of relief after a dramatic comeback (including a missed penalty and questionable refereeing bias), and Cristiano so that everyone understood that the news was that he would no longer play in any more World Cups. It was a moment that arrived amidst general indifference, including that of his teammates and the Portuguese press, who are fed up and eager to lock him away in the museum once and for all.

Mikel Merino has once again become Spain's hero. The Navarrese player scored in the 91st minute the goal that gave the Spanish team qualification for the quarterfinals of the World Cup after an in extremis victory against Portugal (0-1). But he wasn't just the protagonist of the night on the pitch. After the match, the 30-year-old player, currently at Arsenal and trained at Osasuna before playing for Borussia Dortmund and Real Sociedad, explained the difficulties he has had to overcome to reach this point.

There is a magnificent football quote from Jean-Paul Sartre that condenses the essence of the Trumpist manual: “In football, everything is complicated by the presence of the opposing team.” Donald Trump has based his political career on an identical premise: in the United States, everything is complicated by the presence of opponents.

While the FIFA World Cup fills the impeccable stadiums of the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the entertainment industry deploys its machinery of millions, exclusive television rights, and global marketing. But far from this golden showcase, there is another football. A stubborn, free, and essential game that needs no turf or giant screens. It is the global game of bare feet. From the remnants of the destroyed streets of Gaza to the outskirts of Buenos Aires or the communities of Nigeria, the ball rolls, moved purely by the game. It generates identity, survival, and rebellion. Where advertising does not reach, sport maintains its truth intact and the dreams of the little ones.

The World Cup, the most important and anticipated sporting event of the year, is now entering its final phase. From now on, there is no room for error for the 48 teams that, from Thursday, June 11, are competing with a single objective: to be in the final on Sunday, July 19 (9 p.m.) which will be played at the MetLife Stadium located in New Jersey (near New York).

A week ago Tim Payne was an anonymous player, practically unknown to the general public. With just over 4,700 followers on Instagram, the center-back of the New Zealand team, ranked 85th in FIFA, was the least media-friendly footballer among the 1,248 called up for this summer's World Cup. But overnight he became internationally famous and his number of followers increased at a dizzying pace, becoming the viral phenomenon in the days leading up to the World Cup. Not Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo: the man of the moment is Tim Payne.

The celebration of the first World Cup of the Spanish women's soccer team it was altered when the players had not yet lifted the trophy. During the medal ceremony, the president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, kissed the mouth of ex-Barcelona player Jennifer Hermoso, one of the players who had started in the final. The action took everyone by surprise, including the footballer herself. "It is a situation of abuse of power of a sexual nature," says Marta Roqueta, a doctoral researcher at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) who is an expert in gender perspective.