Lionel Scaloni has spent nearly eight years building one of the most successful teams in Argentina’s history. Yet even now, he admits it continues to surprise him.
After watching his side overturn another deficit to beat England 2-1 and reach a second successive FIFA World Cup final, the coach searched for words to explain a team that seems to thrive when the odds are stacked against it.
“I think this team plays its best football when we are facing adversity,” Scaloni said. “We had a challenging game, a challenging situation. There was blood in the water, and we went for it. That was the feeling I had.”
It was another comeback to add to a growing collection. Just days after rescuing itself from the brink against Egypt in the round of 16, Argentina again refused to accept defeat. England led with five minutes of normal time remaining before Enzo Fernandez equalised and Lautaro Martinez completed yet another dramatic turnaround.
Argentina struck the woodwork, squandered chances and continued to attack until the breakthrough arrived.
“You just have to keep going,” Scaloni said. “We hit the crossbar. We hit the post and it just couldn’t go in. There were six or seven chances. But I’m very pleased because the team fought until the very end, and I think that’s critical.”
Following the victory over Egypt, Scaloni had described his team’s escape as “epic”. Asked how Wednesday’s semifinal compared, he smiled. “Epic squared?”
The coach insisted the latest comeback was not about individual brilliance but about a collective mentality that has carried Argentina through the tournament.
“This group is difficult to explain,” he said. “It is a show of the collectiveness, the brotherhood that we are in, the fight to the very end that we have.”
Scaloni even rejected suggestions that calling his players unique amounted to arrogance. “We are unique, and that’s not arrogance,” he said. “It’s because of the way these players compete, the way they keep fighting until the very last minute.”
That mentality, he believes, comes from an unusual freedom with which his players approach football.
“I know the guys. They fear nothing,” he said. “They don’t feel the weight on their shoulders. They’re playing like they’re seven or eight years old. They’re not thinking about what happens if they miss or about the semifinal or the final.”
It is an attitude that has transformed Argentina into the tournament’s great escape artists. Time after time, when the match has seemed to drift away, Scaloni’s players have found another surge, a way to get back into the game.
The victory also leaves Argentina one win away from becoming the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to retain the World Cup, while Scaloni himself could guide the Albiceleste to a fourth consecutive major title following the 2021 and 2024 Copa America triumphs and the 2022 World Cup.
Standing between Argentina and history is Spain, the European champion that dismantled France 2-0 in the other semifinal.
Scaloni admitted he had already begun studying Sunday’s opponent even before his side had finished its own semifinal assignment.
“We’ve analysed them a little bit,” he said. “It’s a great team. They deserved to beat France because they played very well against a team that is very difficult to beat. We had already seen them as a potential rival, and now we’ve analysed them a bit more.”
The final will also carry a personal significance. Scaloni lives in Mallorca with his Spanish wife and children and spent much of his playing career in LaLiga. Seven members of Argentina’s squad also play their club football in Spain, while Lionel Messi remains revered across much of the country after his years with Barcelona.
“Everybody knows that I’m in Spain and have a Spanish family,” Scaloni said. “On Sunday, though I’m very, very sorry, I’m going to try to beat Mr. (Luis) de la Fuente (Spain’s coach).”
His confidence briefly got the better of him when asked about the final.
“We’re going to win the final,” he said, before quickly correcting himself with a smile. “We’re going to try to win the final”.
Published – July 16, 2026 05:57 pm IST
