The man from Puja joined the national team as an interim during a time of absolute crisis, and in four years he captured every major title available.
The stunning failure at the 2018 World Cup in Russia suggested that the Argentine Football Association would opt for an established coach to succeed Jorge Sampaoli. After offers from Simeone, Gallardo, and Pochettino were declined, the decision was made to entrust Lionel Scaloni with no club-level experience and only a single step through Argentina’s youth teams as the only prior credential to lead the side. Four and a half years later, the Albiceleste boast a cabinet full of championship patches. What happened in between?
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The pujatense coach initially aroused suspicion, and many eyed him warily. Yet a sweeping renewal around the emerging talents backed by Lionel Messi and solid results during an interim period, including a third place at the 2019 Copa America, solidified him. This momentum empowered the AFA to name him head coach for the South American qualifiers for Qatar 2022 and the Copa America 2020, which was delayed to 2021 due to the pandemic. The gamble paid off in a striking way: in July 2021, at the Maracanã, Argentina ended a 28-year title drought by beating Brazil in the continental final.
The Scaloni era formally began on September 8, 2018, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with a friendly against Guatemala, a match won 3-0 with goals from Pity Martínez, Gio Lo Celso, and Gio Simeone. The renewal had started then.
Across 59 matches under Scaloni’s guidance, excluding the Brazil game from September 2021 that was suspended after five minutes and later canceled by FIFA, Argentina tallied 40 wins, 14 draws, and five defeats. The team scored 127 goals while conceding 34. Scaloni collected three titles, winning the 2021 Copa America, the Finalissima, and the 2022 World Cup. The run included 36 consecutive competitive and friendly matches without a loss, a record for the national team at the time of the last pre-World Cup friendly against the United Arab Emirates, which finished 5-0. That streak followed a 3-1 loss to Chile in the 2019 Copa America third-place match, itself a consequence of a 2-0 semifinal defeat to Brazil, and it extended up to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where a surprising 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia interrupted it and provided a reset for the tournament to come. The exceptional performance in Qatar positioned Scaloni as one of the sport’s standout coaches of the year, and FIFA recognized him with the Best Coach award for 2022 as his contract was extended through the 2026 World Cup cycle.
GOAL analyzes each match coached by the Santa Fe native from his first appearance in September 2018 to the present. Note: a match halted at 5 minutes due to field interference by officials from Brazil was not counted in the official tally and is not part of the total matches directed by Scaloni.
Citations and sources are acknowledged in coverage of the team’s results and milestones. [Goal]