Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni comments on penalty kick win vs. Ecuador

By
Roy Nemer
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38

Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni commented on the team’s penalty shootout win vs. Ecuador in the quarter finals of the Copa America.

The Argentina national team are in the semi finals of the 2024 Copa America and they will play either Canada or Venezuela on Tuesday. Scaloni spoke about the team’s win vs. Ecuador at a press conference after the match. Here is what he had to say:

“I need to watch the match carefully, there are always things to improve. I will analyze it better later.

“This time I didn’t enjoy anything. We are happy, of course, but this time I didn’t have a good time.”

Lionel Scaloni also spoke about Lionel Messi:

“Every time I asked Messi during the match, he told me he was fine.”

Scalo commented on the penalty kicks:

“In penalty kicks, the team has blind confidence in their goalkeeper and for us, that is fundamental. Even with Leo missing, the team knew that something positive was going to happen.”

“For the last penalty kick, it was between Ota and Nico González, and Ota took the responsibility.”

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38 Comments

  1. I think messi was deliberately not trying. Mainly because of the horrible condition of the pitch he was fearing to get injured again. Hopefully he will recover fully in 5 days both physically and also mentally as well

  2. Of course Scaloni was not happy because he expected the team to play better. For Argentina, that performance could disappoint many. The positive thing is that the team will improve after this match.

  4. We are blaming Messi too much. Yes, he is not more than 50% fit but still presence force opponents to park the buses.
    Couple of things, how come Nico G. continues to play in front three for Argentina without scoring/assisting matches after matches while no game time for ADM/Garnacho !!??? Depaul needs to concentrate on his game rather than making too many drama.Why on earth you replace Lisa with Ota when Lisa was playing well! Scaloni every time becomes defensive after just 1 goal!
    It was not bad first half but second half was very poor!
    Good luck for the next two matches to crown again!!

    • Yes agreed with most said as deffenetly so etc…, though i don’t think Ecuador was parking the bus as with youngest squad in this tournament as i belive it was, well they knew what they were doing, though maybe not for the first 15-20 min or so, but either it was part of their tactic or they clearly saw their opportunity and started to use their strengths, which should had ended up for them to win…

      But, THANX ONCE AGAIN FOR DIBU ARG WENT THROUGH TO SEMI’s !

      I agree that first half was not, that bad, though Could had been also better and therefore as u said it completly blew me away how poor.ARG was during the whole second half as i can’t remember any game under Scaloni and CO, were ARG pkayed so poorly indeed ! And still don’t understand why things were not fixed at the break before the second half…?

      Yes, it also true, that MESSI is getting a lot of stick and as u said he can’t be blamed for everything, which is also true, but by reading Scaloni’s comments, well it seems more and more, that MESSI will decide if he plays or not as obviously no one will never say that from the team as yes, MESSI knows his body better , than anyone obviously, but i’m not sure as emotions are forsure high running with every player on the field as some might be able controll their emotions better than others, but none will come even close to DIBU psychologicallly as he has trained himself completly to another level

      So i quess until MESSI decides himself if he starts or not to start or come in as sub, well i think he will be starting as it is obviously difficult for him to leave the pitch before the game end’s as if that is due to his emotions towards the game or selfish, well hard to tell as only i know it has never been easy for him to leave the pitch until the match is over as also it is quite obvious that he want’s to start every game too, which i kind of understand, but still the team should allways come’s as first and therefore if i was Scaloni i will introduce him as sub if he is fit to play….

      From now on only those who are clearly starters as DIBU LICHA CUTI MAC JULIAN TORO must be starting as for fullbacks there ain’t many options and i think Molina should be tried to change for Montiel, though not sure if it will improve anything, but Molina has not been to his best since WCu and from Montiel it hard to say as he has not played much…. Tagli will most likely continue as Acuna might not be still fit, though both Could play one half or share that leftside….

      It is true as offensive wise Nico has not delivered so far, but defrenssive he is good so another option will be using him as left wingback back, but not sure if Ota will good idea for a back 3 as i might try in that case of back 3 TAGLI LICHA CUTI or LICHA QUARTA/TAGLI CUTI, but i don’t see Quarta having a chance as Scaloni will use instead Ota and Pezzella as now it would had been handy to have one of Barco Perez, Balerdi or Senesi forexample as also Dybala too, but it is too late as Scaloni picked Pezzella instead of those as mentioned above….Also picking Acuna maybe was not the best idea as if he played only 1 game or so and now can’t as most propably same injury as before is troubling him as for the right Molina was also a bit injured at least, well for the right side only basicly Perez was tried after WC, which i think was not also not wise at all from the Coaching, though i understand there may not be players as Barco or Esquivel who Could occupy that right side…..

      Also every player most understand the quality of refereeing, which been poor indeed as well as the pitches too, but they are what they are so i agree also with no more drama and play until the refereei stop’s the play and also as how bad the pitches are one just must adjutantit even how hard that will be…

      Luck is deffenetly alkways needed no matter the circumstances and yes specially now, but ARG must get back to their way of play and play with their own strenghts as Scaloni alkways referring to how they will aproach according to the opponent, but at least against Ecuador it clearly did not work at all so Canada nust not be taken lightly as that is for sure, but anything else than a win is failure for me with due all my respect for Canada

  5. Man I’m so happ we are in semifinal again after worst performance match under scaloni era worse than open match copa 19 vs Colombia in Brazil when we lost 2-0
    I doesn’t make sense to blame players and coaching staff too much I have said enough about that already. One thing I know football is unpredictable that is why I was worried against ecuador before we played the match but hey every team is entitled to have a bad game the good thing is we have survived from it. Now I’m 100% convince we will play much better for the next two games which will makes champion, btw what a player alexis macallister is to me he is the most underrated player in the world

    • Nico G fish flopping leading to equalizer was infuriating.

      > macallister is to me he is the most underrated player in the world

      He’s at one of the biggest clubs and constantly recognized on social and sports media

    • Very true and well said and written also i agree that MAC is above the rest at the moment and hopefully others from the middfield can raise at least a bit their level, though still not get it why Palacios is not used hardly at all as Enzo does not seem to get back to his level yet as hopefully he will, but in this COPA it might come too quick for him, though one goal or brilliance during the game and i will have to eat my word’s again, lol ! As also it would do wonders for his confidence, which is obviously a bit low if, that is fair to say….

      It also so true football is very unpredictable indeed as every team and Coaching can have more than one bad game as obviusly as FAN OF ARG for myself there are some expectations allways, though not necessarily , that ARG will win their every game as more about the performance during the game etc…

      But, bad performances also happens to even the best team’s in the world and currently i don’t rank ARG as the best team from SA as i think both Uruguay and Colombia are ahead, but ARG still might be able to beat them as i truly hope and wish so and also in the future wise i belive ARG can become the best team in SA as it is just matter of intergtrating the right players to team as there are some canditates for sure and plenty talent, but they must be given time and games to play as that is why Uruguay and Colombia also Ecuador have risen to the top level in SA as maybe, yes they have a lot of talent too and very good players amongst their team’s as the whole world knows them too, but also some good young talents, though maybe not so many as ARG, actually i don’t know for sure, but my feeling is, that as from ARG there is and have allways been lot of talent and obviously some get to play in better team’s than others, but i don’t know if that is case so much with Uruguay, Colombia and Ecuador as they might have to intergrate more quickly their talents with the senior team as they might not have so much in quantity if compared to ARG, but in a way that Could help them to process with their senior NT a bit more quicker as they might not have so many other options etc…also this is not easy as there so few NT games played every year and i’m a bit affraid that it will just get worst as the clubs in Europe have so much power of everything etc…

  6. I always try to see the positive when the negative is overwhelming, ARGENTINA is 2 games away from winning back to back Copa America, the team is literally playing at home, just came off a confidence booster and a scare that everybody and his mama felt and none of them want to experience that again.
    5 days is plenty to figure things out and like I said, there will be plenty of drama in both Euros and Copa, ARG just happened to go first and now they sit, relax and watch other teams fuckup!

  7. I saw no reason to bring on Lo Celso he is not good enough

    Paredes must start over enzo now
    Let Di Maria start next game

    They need a pure DM like Guido playing if defending a lead

    I still make Uruguay favourites to beat us in 90 mins .

    If we play Colombia will be a penalty shoot out

  8. I’d take a team that parks two buses against us and allows us to pass the ball over what Ecuador did to us any day. Because we have creative players, having those long passing sequences allows us to find rhythm, build confidence and eventually unlock a defense. Even half fit Messi can find that pass, same for Di Maria, Lo Celso, Mac Allister and Paredes.

    But I saw something curious in yesterday’s game, Ecuador even though they played so much better, there were signs that they did not quite believe they could pull it off, that beating Argentina is too good to be true. Example, Valencia’s bad penalty and their coach was an emotional wreck during that. So we won our victory in the mental realm somehow. In that kind of battle, having a giant like Dibu alone is a huge asset.

    • Well said bro , couldn’t agree more, after horrible performance from our boys yesterday match gives confidence that we will win this copa , I’m 100% convince we will see different Argentina from next two games which we will makes us champion again

      • This wake up call will make argentina stronger and eventually help argentina to win the copa.
        YOU ALSO HAVE TO GIVE CREDIT TO STRONG MENTALITY SHOWN BY ARGENTINA IN A BAD DAY…WHICH IS A SYMTOM OF CHAMPIONS….

    • Well said. I would not say what you guys said already. My positive take from the game is we progressed after suffering which made us stronger. Secondly this coaching team is smart enough not to repeat same mistake again they showed us before. It’s ain’t an excuse but the condition of the field was fucking ridiculous. Scaloni didn’t say to avoid suspension again but I can see what we will get from USA in World Cup clearly ffs. It prevented our quick okay passing bcoz of the turf. Only negative thing I will add which I’m having problem with is Maca playing wrong position. All those chances if Maca had instead of Wnzo we would’ve have scored or he would’ve assisted. FYI nothing against Enzo. He is better in deep lying play making . I don’t know why they doing it ??? It was same line up that ripped team like Netherlands and Croatian and French but suddenly he decides to play Enzo advance and Maca deep. Mind boggling

    • Fully agreed that those team’s parking even 2 buses will suit the way ARG play much better, but i don’t think, that will happen unfortunatly again as every team also Canada will try for sure to play as Ecuador did, though Uruguay and Colombia will stick to their own way of play for sure and both are very fast and technicalky also good and physicalky strong as i may rather want ARG to play against Uruguay than Colombia, because i think even both will be very hard opponents to beat, still i kind fear Colombia even more as their physical presence and pace is at very high level + they are so good in the air too etc… luckily and hopefully ARG will get to play only one of them as even team in yellow might surprise, but i think they will suit ARG even better….

  9. This narrow escape is a wake up call for Scaloni and his players. Our coach must be contemplating why he didn’t sub in Locelso right after the break for Enzo, Palacios & Dimaria for later in the game for Depaul & Nico to put the game to bed, which is why he is coming in with stupid Ten Hag like post match explanations. He as a coach also had disastrous game where his team selection couldn’t string three passes together. Ecuador had a game plan and the plan was to disrupt our flow and let our midfield dominate the tempo and it worked perfectly. Messi hardly touched the ball in the first 45mins and other than set pieces he was dispossed quickly in the second half as well.

    I think the plan to play unfit Messi was to distract Ecuador and force them to park the bus but they were quite sure he is not fully fit & kept Messi far away from receiving the ball and as a result they kept growing in confidence. We definitely have the luck on our side which is why we advanced and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if Messi sits out the semifinal. He was 1000% not match fit yesterday , no diagonal passes at all and playing with half fit Messi is like playing 2 men less because every ball has to go through Messi and if he unable to touch the ball let alone hold the possession then we will again look like a mess from yesterday. Scaloni and Messi took a gamble , it didn’t workout and we almost paid a huge price for it, but thanks to the best Argentina goalkeeper of the last two decade, he saved us again.

    • Our movement was shit. If you noticed our midfield and including Messi didn’t come out to get the ball. In previous game when we got same problem Messi would come deep and carry the ball and De Paul would go advance but for some reason all those clever interchange didn’t happen. It was same with Chile game . Something is odd with this team now . I was so upset seeing them like that.

      • > didn’t come out to get the ball…, all those clever interchange didn’t happen….. Something is odd with this team now

        Spot on. Not only were there tons of basic missed passes but players on the ball didn’t have 1-3 options to pass at all times. our mids are having a hard time stringing together passes, over shooting passes, and brick feet first touches

        • It’s like there wasn’t any option to pass . Like Cuti and Licha was passing to each other then to side. They passed to Maca few occasions however he couldn’t find any option easily. Sorry point out the GOAT like that but Messi was abysmal . We could not even break Ecuador first press which is embarrassing for team like us!!!

          • Yes by not looking and not knowing the statististics from each player, well it certainly looked as u said as most of the passes between CUTI AND LICHA and some from them to MAC as he should be deffenetly playing in more advance role !

            Also LICHA and CUTI too with MAC were those with most accurate passes or at least it looked that way as for other way too many miss passes and like u said there were no options to pass which is very odd indeed as where was the movement as everyone knows as for basics one with the ball should at least have minimum 2-3 options to pass…so, so strange it was…

        • How can they have the option to pass when DePaul, keeps remaining on the ground rolling around. Obviously they are not calling fouls or giving yellows on in this Copa so stay on your feet. Then Nico does the same thing and it leads to the goal. The guys need to stay on their feet because this is how this Copa is going in all of the matches.

          • Yes this should had been understood straight after the first matches played in each group or at least the those second, but this was the 4TH match alkready !

            And still it looked like as u said just basicly trying to get calls from ref and get to his head etc…as how come they understand that how important it is to play until the referee stops the play as yes there are many fouls, but nothing usual in terms of COPA, only the refereeing is so bad, but everyone knows that and still they try get in the referees head or to get call’s from VAR or what so ever as this kind of stupidity will cost any team with the worst refereeing ever !

  10. We have to go back to the tried and true.
    Di maria on for Nico G
    Paredes to stabilize the back line in for Enzo
    Alvarez should start, El toro as super sub

    We have to start every game as if it may be our last… Because it actually is.
    I am not disappointed with specific players… I am disappointed with the cohesiveness. We didn’t play our game… We tried to play against Ecuador.
    Argentina never does well in this manner .. we always do best with making small adjustments against a specific team pre match then going into our style of play with those adjustments.

    • ———Álvarez
      ——ADM – Messi
      MacA – Paredes – RDP

      Agreed. I’d even start Garnacho ahead of Nico. I love his direct style and hunger for goal. Last game part of Gs problem was isolation. Almost like fideo headless noodle days where he had no one to overlap with and dribbled himself out of bounds or had no options but to pass backwards, completely killing the play. On the other side, ADM had Montiel in constant support but Tag didn’t do much for G. Maybe it was due to coach instructions but G was left alone.

      > I am disappointed with the cohesiveness. We didn’t play our game…

      💯

  11. I don’t like the whole vibe between Scaloni and Messi. It’s almost seems like he didn’t want him keep playing but had to ask him to take him out. He should have the balls to take him out. Many players played bad yesterday but Messi didn’t play. We played with 10.

    We won because we have great leaders and top of that list now is Dibu. I can bet if Armani didn’t have COVID we would still be playing Armani.

  12. If Messi is truly fine then he’ll play his heart out for the next after his poor performance and nobody needs to tell him what he already knows.

  14. Whoever thought the game against Ecuador would be easy…that’s your fault. Last 3 game against Ecuador before this tie was 1-0,1-0,1-1. This time another low scoring 1-1.

    I expected this…so, I am not disappointed..

      • The way ARG aproached against Ecuador was so strange indeed…?

        I don’t belive as that became surprise for ARG, but it certainly looked so, but still even if it came as surprise the performance was completly non acceptable even the pitches don’t obviously help at all, but still there was like nothing and everything completly missing as even how good team Ecuador was and, yes they are too, but still the way ARG played was so unreal indeed !
        It is hard to swallow, though every team has a bad game, but this was something else as i don’t know how to explain it even how hard i’m thinking of it as obviously when u don’t have options to pass the ball around, well u are in deep trouble, but i don’t understand how would ARG end up in a situation like that as no options to pass as only between LICHA and CUTi as every time they played the pass to one of the midd’s well the midd’s Could not continue that as maybe only very few times, but most of ARG’s chances came from where they were able to force Ecuador to a miss pass or got the ball away from them in Ecuador’s own half, but again decission making was very poor as the end product too….

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