Scaloni: “It would have been crazy to lose, but this is football”

The Argentine national coach, Lionel Scaloni, valued his team’s ability to react to the blows they suffered from Cape Verde this Friday to advance their ticket to the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, happy with the attitude in the duel at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami that was decided in extra time.

“We are Argentina. What does it mean to be Argentina? This is it. In the good and the bad. Suffer, don’t give up, I don’t know if Cape Verde is a good team, but they have surely given 200%. Without a doubt. And that today in football is a lot, it equates a lot,” he said at a press conference after the 3-2.

“There are many things to see, even when you win well, there are things to correct. But the responsibility of this team is difficult to weigh. We can debate whether it plays well or badly, you can’t always play well either. The rival plays you, puts you in trouble, that’s good to know and above all winning, because it gives you time to correct it,” he added.

Still on the pitch, Scaloni was asked about his 100 games in charge of the albiceleste and confessed that “it would have been crazy to lose”, “this is football”, although he later commented in the press conference about the importance of the match against Cape Verde. “Of the 100, this is the one that has marked me the most as a coach, because it is in a World Cup, things happened in the game, I am not saying they are not normal, but we have to recover. It is a game that is going to help me as a coach. Just the number 100 and winning is better, if we had lost it would be a sad statistic,” he confessed.

The Argentina coach wanted to insist on his team not giving up. “The best thing about the team is that it continues, then you can evaluate whether it is good or bad. If you do it well or badly there are many conditions. The first is the field, it is a very strange grass, which is not an excuse, the ball did not run, you cannot find that pass. The team always tried, took the initiative,” he stated.

“We scored a goal from a set piece, which is important, it’s something to highlight. The team always gives a show of character. The last minutes of overtime, no changes, cramped players, we have to defend like a cat on its belly,” he added.

“Do you remember when yesterday you asked me that we were on the good side of the draw? I hope that now you realize that there is no easy opponent. Congratulations to Cabo Verde. We knew that they were going to be a tough opponent. The match happened, we suffered too much. We deserved to have won but it does not mean that the rival made things difficult for us. I will discuss the negative with them but we highlight the positive, this team never gives up. We received the blows at specific moments, which weaken you, and we went for it the game,” he finished.