Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni: “We like to compete”

By
Roy Nemer
-
10

Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni spoke about the World Cup celebrations and the players with the team.

Lionel Scaloni has won every trophy there is to win as coach of the Argentina national team. He was moved to tears prior to Argentina’s match against Panama on Thursday and after the team’s 7-0 win vs. Curacao, the World Cup winning coach spoke to the media about it. Here is what he had to say:

“We like to compete and that’s the most important thing for what’s to come. We will never finish celebrating and I think it’s only fair that the whole country can enjoy it. From out side, we think about the sporting aspect because the ball runs and you have to keep going.

“We prepared for the match like we do for all of them. We don’t believe there are any small opponents. We have the experience of the first match from the World Cup.

“The goal is always the same: To compete. And that the guys that come don’t relax. That is what we all have in our minds.

“Everyone knows that Nicolás González and Giovanni Lo Celso were in the World Cup list. They were always in the cycle and they deserved to be in this celebration. They both bring us a lot of things on the pitch.

“The Argentine fans have always been one of the best and now they are the best. Whenever we played with this shirt, we always felt identified. Wherever we went, they always support us.

“We will continue to think objectively about what we might be lacking. We have a wide range of players. Thirty three came, so we have the pattern to pick from. If others come along, they will come too.

“The welcoming was very nice and I thank everyone who came to see their heroes. People have come from all over.

“The week was very emotional. To see how the people were jumping and singing at River’s stadium, to see the players emotional on the pitch, I think it was one of the best moments.”

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10 Comments

  1. Argentina should find out Lautaro replace. We all know what happened with Heguin Argentina give him more and more time and he upset every time.Team is more than one player. Thank God we had Julian alvarez at WC Hope he will injury free at every tournament.

    • 100 percent agree. Seria A is very weak league which made Lukaku and fading C. Ronaldo elite. It is slow league where Martinez shines. Huigain was top scorer in Seria A while flopping at RM.

  3. Aggression and attitude of Nico gonazalaz is very useful for Arg. NT. And Gio celso playing like a commander in.midfld. When playing with gio.Messi is more happy and enjoying than other games he playd without him..

  4. Laurato can’t score against Panama and Curacao, can’t score against tap-in open net. So much of bad luck and weak mentality. This is worst than Higuain, but on par with Lukaku.

    Hope he’ll come back strong!

    • Everyone goes through a bad patch. The team should provide mental support to him to come out of this. There was one sublime effort where he headed the ball, got it on his foot, turned around and shot. It missed the post by inches. At least, in this match he was trying to be as pressing as Alvarez.

    • He is scoring for fun at Inter. And those goals aren’t tapins like Haaland’s but really solid goals from half chances but with the national team it seems like the world cup misses have taken a huge mental toll on him. Also, the opposition Keeper was at his best yesterday.

      • Not really. For the 22-23 season he is scoring 1 goal per 179 minutes at club level. It’s not elite level. Suppose he’s done a bit better in the last couple months. Julián is scoring 1 goal per 141 minutes. Juliáns team probably creates more chances but Julián is not even the focal point, plus he adds more in buildup and a lot more in pressing.

        Now his confidence is shaken causing him to miss a lot for Argentina.

        I think Lautaro gets a few more chances in important friendlies before the Copa America in 14 months to establish himself as #2 striker. Argentina coaches generally like a firm #1 striker who is secure, not worrying about being replaced.

        As for 2026, I don’t see Lautaro making it as he will be almost 30 which is pretty old for non-elite strikers. But it’s a long way off and he is a fighter.

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