The man from Puja joined the national team as an interim in a time of absolute crisis and in just four years he won all possible titles.
The resounding failure of the 2018 World Cup in Russia suggested that the Argentine Football Association would prefer an established coach to succeed Jorge Sampaoli. After a search met with refusals from Simeone, Gallardo or Pochettino, the decision was made to bet on Lionel Scalonia DT with no club level experience and with just one step through Albiceleste’s youth teams as the only antecedent to be in charge of a side. Four and a half years later, the national team has no place on the jersey to put so many championship patches. What happened in between?
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Logically, the choice of the pujatense initially aroused suspicion and not a few looked at him suspiciously. But the sweeping renewal that surrounded the young promises to Lionel Messi and the good results achieved during what should be an intermediate period, including third place in the America’s Cup 2019- They fortified him so that the AFA would empower him in the position facing the South American qualifiers for Qatar 2022 and the Copa América 2020 (which would eventually be contested in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic). And the bet produced an unexpected result for many: in July 2021, in Maracana, Argentina broke their streak of 28 years without titles by being crowned in the continental tournament against Brazil.
Formally, the Scaloni cycle began September 8, 2018at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with a friendly against weak Guatemala, which they defeated 3-0 of goals from Pity Martínez, Gio Lo Celso and Gio Simeone. The renovation began.
In total played under the direction of the man from Santa Fe de Albiceleste 59 encounters (apart from the game against Brazil in September 2021, suspended after 5 minutes of play and then canceled by FIFA), of which 21 were friendlies, six correspond to the 2019 Copa América, seven to the 2021 edition, one to the Finalissima, 17 to the South American qualifiers and seven to the World Cupwith a balance of 40 wins, 14 draws and five defeats, with 127 goals for and only 34 against. He also has three titles, having won the 2021 Copa América, the Finalissima and the 2022 World Cup.
With the 5-0 win in the friendly match against the United Arab Emirates, the last before the World Cup, DT 36 games undefeated and surpassed the best streak in national team history. The streak, which began with Chile’s 3-1 defeat in the third-place match of the 2019 Copa América (after a 2-0 defeat to Brazil in the semi-finals), finally ended at the 2022 Qatar premiere, with the unexpected 2 -1 loss to Saudi Arabia which was key for the team to reset and advance to the title.
The great performance of the Albiceleste at the World Cup, in which they were without a doubt the best team, led to Scaloni being awarded by FIFA with the award for the best coach of 2022. The extension of his contract had been confirmed the day before. his contract until the end of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
GOAL discusses each of the games led by the Santa Fe man from his debut in September 2018 to the present.
*Game halted at 5′ due to field invasion by Brazilian officials. FIFA and CAS decided to end it without result. For this reason, it is not considered for the total list of matches directed by the DT.
Source: Goal