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The history behind Marcos Acuña and his Club World Cup rage

The history behind Marcos Acuña and his Club World Cup rage

There's a common phrase in Argentina that is synonymous with the country's sporting culture.
In English, it's best described as 'grit' or 'tenacity'. In Argentina, where male athletes and men's teams are judged by their steel and resilience, the ultimate badge of honor is linked to the strength of their nether regions.
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'Poner huevo', in the figurative sense of the definition, is to leave everything on the field. To fight for your teammates, club or country at all costs and against all odds. The literal definition is to 'have balls, or eggs (huevos)', and that's River Plate fullback Marcos Acuña's calling card. Nicknamed 'El Huevo', Acuña has made a living by playing football on the edge.
Diminutive in stature but built like an Olympic wrestler, the former Sevilla star earned his moniker with Club Ferro Carril Oeste, a proud second-division team with a unique relationship with Aston Villa. Acuña came up through the Ferro, which is located in the Caballito neighborhood of Buenos Aires.
Acuña stood out as a young player for his relentless play and his fearless desire to tackle despite his size. He moved to Racing Club in 2014, two years before making his senior international debut for Argentina. A period at Sporting CP in Portugal was preceded by his most noteworthy spell in Spain with Sevilla, where he cemented his reputation in La Liga as a technical and bruising defender. He started four matches for Argentina during the title run at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
His profile at the top level has been understated, but highly valued by Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni; Acuña is the type of player most coaches would relish having on their side.
'He's quiet, but if you're going to war, you go with 'El Huevo' Acuña,' Scaloni told ESPN in 2021. 'El Huevo is a guy we appreciate in a special way — and he knows it. Getting words out of him is hard. But when he speaks, he says just the right thing. And when he has to play, he plays, he gives it everything… He's the kind of player we like to have.'
On Wednesday in Seattle, Acuña played like his alias. The 33-year-old was among River Plate's top performers in their 2-0 loss to Champions League runners-up Inter at the Club World Cup. But Acuña's fiery personality got the better of him after the final whistle. It took a handful of River Plate players, plus Inter coach Cristian Chivu and River Plate's team bodyguard, to restrain Acuña, who became enraged and ran after Inter's Denzel Dumfries as the Dutch international headed to the stadium's tunnel.
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Dumfries and Acuña aren't strangers. They last faced each other in 2022, during a highly combative World Cup quarterfinal in Qatar.
Argentina and the Netherlands battled to a 2-2 draw before the former prevailed 4-3 in the penalty shootout. There was also a bench-clearing scuffle between both sides that raised the temperature to a boiling point.
After Lautaro Martinez scored the winning penalty, several Argentina players taunted their opponents as they celebrated their qualification to the semifinals. The images of Argentina's players laughing in the faces of the devastated Dutch side were seen by the football world. But there's one video that was obscure, and that may have led to the clash between Acuña and Dumfries in Seattle.
Aca no se acuerda nadie porque estaban todos festejando pero lo de Acuña y Dumfries viene de aca. pic.twitter.com/BZzQl7EAIl
— lautaro (@notlauti_) June 26, 2025
An overhead angle of Argentina's celebrations sees Acuña bait Dumfries. A melee ensued and Dumfries was shown a second yellow. Acuña, a left fullback, was Scaloni's answer to containing the speedy Dumfries. The two players became very familiar with each other that day. When the Club World Cup groups were announced, the River Plate and Inter match was among the most anticipated of the group stage.
There wasn't a great deal of friction between the two during the match. Both players got the better of each other at times, but they kept it professional until Alessandro Bastoni put the game on ice in second-half stoppage time. Acuña had previously been triggered by something one of Inter's assistant coaches had said, so the tensions were rising.
With River Plate's elimination a certainty, Acuña became enraged and tangled with Dumfries on the ground after he dragged the Inter defender down by his shirt. They both shared a sinister grin and that's when the two began to exchange pleasantries. Perhaps Acuña reminded the Dutch fullback that Dumfries had left Qatar without a medal.
After the match, Inter captain Martinez, Acuña's Argentina teammate, revealed how the ordeal was resolved.
'I spoke with Marcos. He's a great person, and that's that,' Martínez said. 'I've known him for years. These are situations that happen in the heat of the match. It happened, it was a momentary bout of anger, but everything stays on the field. The confrontation… stayed on the field. Acuña and Dumfries made peace inside the locker room.'
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River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo lauded his team's effort against one of the strongest teams in Europe. The incident between Acuña and Dumfries, though, marred the Argentine club's participation in the tournament. Fans and pundits in South America blasted River Plate and Acuña for failing to lose honorably.
'I understand the emotions of the players, but the ending is not the image we want to show,' Gallardo said. 'A fight between two players causes everyone to get involved. It's not River's style for things to end that way.'
Gallardo wasn't proud of his player's behavior after the final whistle. But for El Huevo Acuña, the question remains whether he's a modern-day hard man or a victim of his own pride.

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