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Published on 20 Jul 2026
After watching his 10-man side come close to becoming World Cup winners from 1958-62, a tearful Lionel Scaloni admitted he had no idea what was coming.
The 48-year-old was appointed manager after Argentina crashed out of the 2018 World Cup in the round of 16 amid doubts over his lack of head coaching experience and short stint as an assistant coach.
If he continues his contract when it expires in December, he will retire as the most decorated manager in the country’s history. Sunday 1-0 in Spain in the World Cup final he ran to the title in the 2022 tournament, and also led Argentina to the Copa America crown in 2021 and 2024.
“I will speak to the president” of the federation, Scaloni said through an interpreter. “I have an idea of what I want to do. I will see my contract, and I feel the need to think, because I don’t know if something big can happen (again) and maybe we need to talk.
“I thank the president for giving me the opportunity to be in this position where I am. At the moment, it was a dream for everyone. And we have tried until the last minute to give our ability, the staff, the players. And I believe that I can take some time to think about this.”
Scaloni is the second Argentine manager to reach consecutive World Cup finals and the fifth in any format. Carlos Bilardo led the Albiceleste to the title in 1986 and the final in 1990, but he did not match Scaloni’s Copa America achievements.
If Scaloni continues, he could end up with a team that looks very different from the one he led for nearly a decade.
Lionel Messi is 39 years old, and although he still has a special campaign with eight goals and four assists, the eight-time winner’s participation in the Ballon d’Or in 2030 seems doubtful.
In total, eight Argentine players started the 2022 and 2026 finals, and it is certain that there will be more interest than their most famous star.
“I never thought, we never thought, including my staff, that we would be in this place,” Scaloni said in tears.
“So to continue, you need a lot of things, especially to reset your mind, to start again. To create a group like this, which is very difficult, that you can create again. And it’s very painful. I’m very sorry.”
At that point, Scaloni came out of his hand to end his press conference and applauded the assembled journalists.
At the start of his comments, Scaloni said he had no complaints with the result of the final, which Spain dominated possession and shots but won with a small part of Ferran Torres’ 106th minute winner.
“We feel very grateful to all our fans, all the people who gave us the energy we needed,” Scaloni said.
“We made it to the end when the game was very open, and it was not possible in the end. They deserved to win. This is true. We have to accept it. But we were close, to be honest. I want to thank my players (and) everyone who helped us a lot to reach the final of the World Cup.”
Developed by Newell’s Old Boys, the same team Messi played for as a child, Scaloni played for two decades across Argentina, Spain, Italy and briefly in England.
But the right-back and full-back only played seven games for the senior team. His best moment for the Albiceleste came when he started and played all of their 2-1 win over Mexico in the World Cup round of 16 in 2006.
