Scaloni: “When we are in difficulty and the opponent hesitates a little, there we see blood”

The Argentine men’s soccer coach, Lionel Scaloni, has stated that being “in difficulty” and when “the rival hesitates a little”, is the exact moment in which his pupils see “blood”, in reference to their new comeback in the semifinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, this time to beat the England team 1-2 and reach the final.

“This team plays best when it is in difficulty, honestly. And when we are in difficulty and the opponent hesitates a little, there we see blood and we go; and we go wherever it takes. I think that is the feeling it gives me. The feeling I got from them too,” he declared this Wednesday at a press conference from Atlanta, Georgia (USA).

Then the ‘Albiceleste’ coach praised “those who have to train when others rest.” “I think those who came in from the bench have been fundamental today. Football… life is a bit like this: giving everything to the end and going home knowing that you have given your maximum. And these guys today have shown what they have done and what they have inside,” he stressed regarding his substitutes in the semis.

“When you realize that there is a vacuum cleaner in the goal and that it calls for the goal, it sucks the ball. But it hit the post, it went out… And if it didn’t go in, what would we do? We lost 1 to 0. What do you do? Happy anyway because the team has shown that it has fought until the end. And for me that is fundamental. We would have gone home sad, but knowing that we had left everything and that we had played the game we had to play,” argued the coach after beating the ‘Three Lions’.

“From their goal, it was a demonstration of a little of everything that sums up what we want for football. Football is not just tactics, strategy, playing nice, etc. It is those 40 minutes. And when we made it 2 to 1, we had to dig in and we also did it at the end. It is a demonstration of everything that it teaches us about what football is when you are little,” insisted the ‘Albiceleste’ coach.

“Do you remember that we said that we never saw it with Egypt? And I think that this surpassed it. Beyond the entity of the rival, it is a semifinal and the way it was I don’t know if it has ever happened. Diego’s goal, the second, was magnificent and for what it was it has remained in history. But at the level of play today I think that… not to compare, but I think the level of play was incredible,” he spoke about the 1986 tournament.

In addition, he advocated “going to rest and preparing for the game” next Sunday as soon as possible. “But hey, it’s also fair that they celebrate. It’s fair, in the end they are the only moments we have of complete happiness, those that are here, because tomorrow morning I’ll start to bring the heartburn, as we say,” he said in this regard.

“We have had a lot of difficulties throughout the World Cup and you think maybe you make excuses. You saw when I said ‘we went through difficult times’ a month and a half ago, it was difficult to understand what a semi-final could show. I think the worst moment, without a doubt, was the days before the list was announced. We were in a difficult situation,” he admitted.

“And this for us is what we like. A football game, directing, the feeling of being attentive, etc. Well, what we did all our lives in the end. But everything else, the stuff outside of football, the injuries and all that, and as a group too, it made us stronger because in the end you have to trust them, you have to trust that they tell you that they are going to arrive, that they are going to be fine. I think that once we closed the list and gave them the right, they trust that they were going to be fine, I think that was the best moment,” Scaloni added.

Later he remembered again the comeback against Egypt. “I think we thought there would be no more. But I know them, I know what they are like. I know they are Indians, they are Indians in the good sense of the word. They have grown up in environments where they were not afraid of anything, where they were the best everywhere, when they were little they competed. And everyone expected a lot from it. The responsibility does not weigh on them,” commented the Argentina coach.

He also praised his namesake Messi. “In the last 15, 20 or 25 minutes, I don’t know anymore because I’m very bad at numbers, when he could, he grabbed the ball. And De Paul came in, and Montiel came in thinking there was no more. So, when you see that, you see that demonstration of the players, it’s because they are playing as if they were 7 or 8 years old,” he explained. “That ‘oops, if I fail we are out of a final’. They are not thinking about playing football, which is what they did all their lives. And luckily they have understood it,” he delved into his analysis.

“Because later, when the game is over and you win, lose or draw, there is no more time for anything. So, do it while the game lasts. The game is over, you gave everything and, logically, if you win, you leave calmer, you leave happier. But if not, things don’t go well, you leave with the feeling that you did what you knew how to do,” he said.

Regarding Spain, he defined it as “a great team.” “I could say that he was a fair winner in the semi-final [ante Francia]. They beat a team that everyone thought, and I also thought, was difficult to beat; and he beat him very well,” Scaloni reiterated.

“Luckily we had analyzed it in March,” he referred to the days before the Finalissima that was finally canceled. “They have changed something, but they are still a great team and everyone already knows how they play. So, well, we are prepared to face it and above all it is going to be a game for people to enjoy,” he stressed about the current final.

Finally, he praised Luis de la Fuente. “In addition to having been my teacher in the coaching course, I had a particular relationship with him because the truth is that I like his closeness and coincidentally today we met in a final. I remember that in Qatar, after a coaches’ forum when we were already world champions, I had a nice talk with him, we talked about things that I believe have been useful to him; it is not to be arrogant, but because I say it in a good way and that he has carried out his selection in a brilliant way,” he said.

“The truth is that I’m happy for him. And besides, everyone knows that I live in Spain, I have a Spanish family. But on Sunday I’m sorry, we’re going to try to beat them. But I have the utmost respect and I congratulate him because not only how he plays, but also the behavior he has. The truth is that he’s going to be a nice champion. And I hope the Spaniards are happy that Argentina is in the final,” he highlighted about the next confrontation.

As a culmination, he recalled the numerous “joys” that “Leo Messi has given to that country by playing for so long” at FC Barcelona. “I hope they understand the great difference of this player, that for me what else does he have to do to be the best footballer in history, there is no longer any type of doubt. So, that Spain also enjoys it because I know they want it; not all Spaniards, but a large part of Spain wants it,” he concluded in his conference from the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.