MY ACCOUNT
Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni insisted his side can compete with any team at the World Cup, after their 3-0 win over Italy in the UEFA/CONMEBOL Finalissima at Wembley on Wednesday.
The Albiceleste were ruthless in transition, pouncing on any opportunity to counter, with first-half goals from Lautaro Martinez and Angel Di Maria capped off by Paulo Dybala’s second-half injury-time strike.
Argentina set a new national team record in the process, now moving to 32 matches unbeaten.
On the back of 2021’s Copa America triumph, Scaloni said that while his team is strong as any heading into Qatar, success will only come through spirit.
“What counts is the spirit of sacrifice, struggle and team spirit shown by the group, beyond the results,” he told ESPN Argentina. “What we want is a performance, to know what the team is looking for on the pitch.
“There is, perhaps, too much enthusiasm [in the public], because in football when you think everything is done, they take you down with a stroke of the pen. We do know that we are going to go to a World Cup to compete on an equal footing with any team.
“We believe that the confidence of winning frees you from many things, but we are not exempt from the fact that the team can block itself at some point and that is what worries me. We have to be prepared in case fate takes a turn.”
The South American champions faced difficulty as the game compressed despite the majority of possession. Chiefly through Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria, they sprung into life whenever space opened.
Much like their struggles late in the World Cup qualification phase – which culminated in playoff elimination at the hands of North Macedonia – Italy looked lifeless without Marco Verratti on the other hand, managing only one shot in the penalty area.
Scaloni conceded the result belied certain aspects of his team’s performances, but is buoyed by a similar spirit that propelled the team to success in Brazil last year.
“I don’t know if it’s the best game we played,” he said post-match. “In the first half I think they put us in trouble, at times. We feel comfortable afterwards.
“I want that every time we get together we are in the same way, united as we are now. The World Cup is going to be something else, it has a different pressure. Now people enjoy and it is the most important thing for us.”
