Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni spoke about Lionel Messi after the team’s 3-1 win against Jordan at the World Cup.
Lionel Scaloni spoke at a press conference after the team’s 3-1 win where he commented on the team, the match against Jordan and the match against Cabo Verde. At the same press conference, Scaloni spoke about Lionel Messi, who was substituted into the match and scored. Here is what he had to say:
“I spoke with Leo and we both agreed that him being substituted into the match in the second half was the best thing for today, that shows what he means to the group.
“About Leo, I see what you all see. It’s even uncomfortable for me because he’s left me speechless.
“He chose today to think about his team mates who are getting minutes rather than those numbers that so many people talk about to boost his record. That says a lot about what his team mates and the Argentina national team mean to him.”
A comfortable win by the team that had nine different players in the line-up. It is good to know we can win games with players that normally sit on the bench. Simeone and Paz were lively in the first half and LoCelso did well. For large spells of the game we just had possession and posed little threat. Many players have little or no urge to go forward and score goals. I guess 95% of Palacios’ passes were backwards. Without proper wingers everything has to go through the middle. I had hoped that maybe Zeballos or Subiabre would turn into great wingers for the NT. That has not been the case (so far). Prestianni could have been there had he not uttered those racist comments. Now, we have no threat from the wings. Barco was a great substition. He brought lots of energy and passion. Great impression from the guy that looks Irish 🙂
Although we should be happy with the results, the fact that no goals were scored from open play is a bit worrying. Also Alvarez clear lack of form is concerning. He did not score a lot goals in La Liga and his poor Atletico form is a problem for the NT. However, he works hard and pressures defences.
If we are patient and concentrated against Cabo Verde, we should be able to make the quarter finals. Colombia made a huge impression against Portugal yesterday. They pressed and pressed, created many chances and deserved to win. If they play at that level against us, it will be a very hard nut to crack.
Juliano Alvarez’s lack of form concerns me more.
It still looks like this team will go as far as Messi takes them. I hope this will change in the following matches and more players will score.
Otamendi starts and Argentina, as usual, fail to keep a clean sheet. It’s always the same story. He has never been reliable and always has a bozo moment that lets the opposition back into the game. We conceded today because he needlessly pushed too far forward trying to win a ball which he had no business winning and completely vacated his defensive zone which let Jordan player to score an easy tapin. Absolute bozo moment.
He was poor in the 2010 World Cup, poor in 2018, and poor again in 2022. The only time Argentina’s defense looked truly solid was at the 2014 World Cup, when he wasn’t even playing.
A big reason Argentina ended up in so many nerve wracking classics at the last World Cup was because he kept making costly mistakes that made everyone suffer. Just look at how much more stable the Licha Romero combo looked during the 2024 Copa America and so far in this World Cup. They are far less error prone and rarely make those needless, game changing mistakes.
Benching him is one of the best decisions Scaloni has ever made, right up there with replacing Armani with Emi. I just hope, for the love of God, he does not bring Otamendi on in crucial moments because his bozo moments always seem inevitable.
Senesi surprised with me with his speed for last man defending..
Speed was the only concern I had with Senesi..
He deserves to be first back up of Romero-Lisandro..not Otamendi…
Spot on.
My defender list
1) Lisandro Martinez
2) Christian Romero
3) Marcos Senesi
4) Nicholas Otamendi
That’s probably a bit harsh on Otamendi. He’s still a very good defender, although I agree he occasionally makes costly mistakes.
Yesterday, he completely missed the ball while attempting to volley it clear, which invoked in my memory thevery similar error he made that led to Emi’s legendary save in the last World Cup final.
That said, he’s still a valuable option, especially as the Central CB in a back five. He’s also probably the strongest aerial defender in the squad, and that remains a major asset at both ends of the pitch.
Otamendi always does blunder in pressure moments. He may be used in 3-5-2 formations only
If someone had told me before the World Cup that we’d avoid the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Brazil, and England until at least the semi finals, I’d have taken that every time. On paper, it’s the easier half of the draw, though Colombia/Ghana could be tough tests. We still need to respect every opponent—Switzerland/Algeria, Australia/Egypt, and Cabo Verde are all here on merit. The draw feels quite unbalanced, with one half packed with heavyweights while the other is much more open. Hope we keep on Marching one team at a time.
Exequiel Palacios, Paredes and Lo Celso had a very good game. Senesi and Tagliafico looked assured. Otamendi used his experience well but also had his usual brain fart moment. Better opponents will tear him to shreds. Emi was not tested until that goal. Good choice to continue with him to keep his hands warm.
Simeone Jr. simply does not belong at this level. Clueless when in possession but wonder what his role was. Nico Paz also not at this level, needs a few more years to get here. Sadly, and again it was because of Scaloni. What the hell was his role, you can’t have both Lo Celso and Paz in the same team. Should have started Barco instead.
Lautaro, what a piece of garbage. Heavy touches, lethargic movements and completely out of sorts. I mentioned before the match that with him we are playing with only 10 and he proved it again. If this guy gets another minute at this WC, then Something is seriously wrong with Scaloni. Álvarez is a shadow of the player from the last World Cup. Both him and Martínez wasted all the good work from midfielders.
Almada was much better than the last match and hopefully he grows from here. Messi lifted a struggling team and bailed them out yet again. Jordan clearly the better team when he entered. Barco looks the part and hope to see more of and from him. López looked clumsy but was given very little time to show what he can do.
Scaloni wasted 3 years not integrating new players into the group and now we play a World Cup match without a proper RB.
Shocking stat. This is the first time in World Cup history that only 1 Argentine player managed to score from open play in the group stage. Even at the disastrous 2002 campaign there were 2 scorers Batistuta and Crespo.
Except cuti everyone is fit, confirmed by Scaloni himself. So Molina and montiel both are fit and available for knockouts. Vamoss
Don’t talk about 2002..on paper world class but pathetic display.. this team is far better than 2002..crespo scored from the rebound and batistuta scored I think corner…
Argentina only scored 2 goals that wc.. midfield was clueless vs england
Vs Sweden…
I disagree with some of your points though. Paz was good in first half and Simione was decent as well. Messi didn’t have to lift anything team was already dominating the whole game maybe got a bit lathergic in the second half but never looked to be in trouble. Lautaro was not too bad as well but can improve his sharpness still. Only player who looked little out of pace is Alvarez but I think he will come into form when it matters. Senesi is a big positive for me.
People die to play one World Cup game. Lautaro has had 10 matches. We know what he did last time and now he gets 3 straight games and not an inch of improvement. Some guys just don’t have that in them when it really matters.
I second to that…I am afraid Lautaro will miss some crucial goal chances in KO..
Alvarez need a hit on his head..his mind is stuck with Barcelona transfer issues..
I don’t think there’s any other Argentine player to be integrated in the system who are considerably better than the current squad.
No concerns in defence, zero concern in mid, the only concern is attackers other than Messi not finishing changes, lautaro’s goal definitely will be giving his confidence going into knockouts but julian again awful in finishing. Cabo verde will defend from the 1st minute to the 90th or maybe 120, WE HAVE TO FINISH CHANCES…nobody else will come to score goal.
Lo Celso, Senesi, Barco..I think they showed that they can fight for the starting X1.
😊 Lautaro broke the duck: His confidence should be higher now. He also hit the post minutes before his goal and had other chances . Argentina rested 9 starters against Jordan. The fluidity wasn’t there, and that’s understandable.
😳 But in this match, Argentina’s goals have come from set-pieces or dead-ball situations. It’s a legitimate concern heading into knockout games.
✅Against a low block like Cape Verde’s, relying on set-pieces is risky. Argentina needs Lautaro, Alvarez, and the midfield to start converting open-play chances.
A bit disappointed that we conceded. It would’ve been nice to carry a clean sheet all the way into the knockout stage. On the goal, Tagliafico seemed unaware of the runner arriving behind him, while Paredes couldn’t quite make the covering movement needed to deny the final touch.
Among the youngsters, both Nico Paz and Barco impressed me, with Barco standing out a little more. Nico showed flashes of brilliance, but he also gave away possession a few times. Those risky square passes in our own half need to become less frequent—they can be very costly against stronger opposition.
Is Lautaro finally free of his scoring jinx? I’m cautiously optimistic, but I’d like to see a bit more before saying yes.
Álvarez, unfortunately, had another quiet outing. To me, he still doesn’t look mentally free. It reminds me of the prolonged goal drought he went through at Atlético between late 2025 and early 2026 (I may be off on the exact dates, but it was a significant spell). Hopefully, once he gets one convincing performance, the confidence will come flooding back.
Lo Celso was the calming influence in midfield. And I loved both set-piece goals—not because they were spectacular, but because they were smart. They were the result of good planning and intelligent execution rather than individual heroics.
Overall, a job well done. But from here on, the margins become razor-thin. We’ll need to cut out the little lapses and raise the intensity another notch.
Lautaro will score more. He didnt play bad vs Austria. Created some space and Julian is a high pressing forward. Both of them will score in the knockouts.