Lionel Scaloni, the man who gifted Argentina its third star, stood on the World Cup draw stage, not as a celebrant of past glory, but as a general charting a new war. Handed a widely deemed “favourable” path in Group J alongside Algeria, Austria, and debutants Jordan for the 2026 World Cup, the coach immediately dismissed any notion of an easy ride, declaring the title defense rests entirely on repeating the unyielding mental steel that defined their triumph in Qatar.
The core of Scaloni’s message, delivered while clutching the iconic World Cup trophy, was less about evolving tactics and more about freezing time on the team’s winning mentality.
”We are going to give the maximum and try to do what we did in the last World Cup, which is to give everything we can, not to give a ball up for lost,” Scaloni affirmed.
The Shadow of Saudi Arabia
Scaloni’s cautious tone is deeply rooted in experience. He consciously invoked the memory of Argentina’s stunning opening 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in 2022 as the ultimate antidote to complacency.
”We have that experience, we have to play the match,” he said, applying the lesson directly to Jordan, the “unknown quantity” in Group J. He showed respect for his other rivals, noting Algeria’s strength under his former mentor Vladimir Petkovic, and praising Austria’s “great qualifying round.”
The Knockout Minefield
While fans back home praised the lack of a traditional “bogeyman” in their group, the coach is already looking ahead to the round of 32, which looms as a potential minefield. Argentina’s path dictates a knockout crossover against a team from the formidable Group H, featuring heavyweights Spain and Uruguay.
”If it is then that the group (H), the crossover is difficult. But first we have to get through and then we’ll see,” he stated, reinforcing his philosophy: focus on the present, not the future.
In a new tournament format with 48 teams, Scaloni’s mandate is clear: the history of 2022 gives them confidence, but the hard lesson of that same campaign—that no opponent can be taken for granted—will be their guiding principle in the quest for a fourth World Cup crown.
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