Why Argentina is playing with 10 players after Enzo Fernandez red card in World Cup final

Why Argentina is playing with 10 players after Enzo Fernandez red card in World Cup final originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

>Argentina spent the entirely of Sunday's first 90 minutes clinging to a scoreless draw, even as Spain came bearing down with the game's first 13 shots.

>Needing every bit of help just to keep the game scoreless, Argentina suffered a major blow in stoppage time when Enzo Fernandez was sent off and Lionel Messi's squad was sent down to 10 players.

>Argentina was able to get the World Cup final to extra time, but Fernandez's absence put a team that already had its backs against the wall in even more trouble.

>Here's why Argentina is down to 10 men in extra time.

>WORLD CUP FINAL HQ: Live Spain vs. Argentina score | Halftime show updates | Player ratings

Why did Argentina go down to 10 men?Fernandez received two yellow cards in Sunday's match against Spain, resulting in a red card and automatic ejection.

>Yellow card totals reset after the quarterfinals, so each player started with a clean rap sheet, but two yellow cards in the same game are enough to bring out a red card. Fernandez was shown two yellows on Sunday, and the second automatically knocked him out for the remainder of the game.

>A red card isn't the same as an ejection in most American sports. Fernandez can't be replaced, meaning Argentina has to play extra time with one fewer player than Spain. Argentina experienced the other side of that coin against Switzerland in the quarterfinals after the Swiss were forced down to 10 men in the second half.

>Fernandez's second yellow came after a brutal collision with Pau Cubarsi, which sent the Spain defender flying into the air before a hard landing on the pitch.

Another look at the challenge from Enzo Fernández that resulted in his second yellow card and subsequent sending-off. pic.twitter.com/6TAclFhmDY

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 19, 2026Fernandez's red card was only the sixth in a World Cup final and the first in a final since John Heitinga was sent off for the Netherlands against Spain in 2010.