Argentina, the 2022 Qatar World Cup champions, are preparing to defend their title in the 2026 edition, with Lionel Messi and coach Lionel Scaloni leading the charge. The draw for the tournament, set to be held across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, has placed the Albiceleste in Group J alongside Austria, Algeria, and debutants Jordan. While some may view the group as favorable, Scaloni remains cautious.
“We Will Give Our Best” – Scaloni on World Cup Ambitions
At the World Cup draw ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Scaloni appeared alongside the World Cup trophy and addressed Argentina’s plans for the tournament:
“𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒐 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑. 𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒐 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏, 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒑.”
Despite the relatively manageable group stage, Scaloni is wary of challenges in the knockout rounds. Argentina could face the runner-up or winner from Group H in the round of 32, which features Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, and Cape Verde.
“𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 2022 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑 𝑯 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆’𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒆,” 𝑺𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
Respect for Group Stage Rivals
Scaloni also praised Argentina’s group-stage opponents, emphasizing that no match should be underestimated.
“𝑨𝒍𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉, 𝑽𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒓 𝑷𝒆𝒕𝒌𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒄, 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒕 𝑳𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒐. 𝑨𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒖𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑱𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑. 𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
The Argentine coach’s measured approach reflects lessons from the 2022 World Cup, when a first-match defeat to Saudi Arabia reminded the champions that even perceived “easier” opponents require focus and preparation. Scaloni’s aim is clear: to guide Argentina to repeat its success and defend the prestigious trophy.
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