Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni comments on the team, Lionel Messi, Cristian Romero

Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni commented on the team, Lionel Messi being substituted out and Cristian Romero.

Lionel Scaloni has his Argentina team starting off the 2026 World Cup qualifiers with a win and he spoke about it to the media after the match. Here is what he had to say:

“It was unbelievable. I am proud of the game the boys played, with the level of demand that this match had. They played to the limit, as a qualifier. We are tremendously proud of the game they played. They played an incredible game. In many places on the pitch, one on one, we won a lot of duels and the ones we lost, we came back fast.”

Scaloni also commented on Lionel Messi being substituted out:

“He asked me for the change. If not, I wouldn’t take him out. It’s obvious. Later, we will evaluate what he has but he asked for the change.

“I don’t know what he has, honestly. He asked for a change. Tomorrow he will undergo tests. If he is fine, he will come and play. If he’s not fine, we’ll see what we’ll do. We’ll see. It’s all very recent.”

Regarding Cristian Romero:

“Not much can be said about the game he had. He thinks he’s He-Man. He is an incredible central defender. Sometimes, he has to save a few moves. He gets tired and leaves the team in a bad position. But the match he had was incredible. It’s a complete game.”

The match on Thursday against Ecuador also marked five years since Scaloni took over as coach of the Argentina national team:

“When I started, I didn’t think I was going to be around for five years. It seems like it was a short time ago and it was actually five years ago. There were difficult moments. That’s when you realize that time has passed. You get better with experience, you play more games.”