Scaloni Reflects on Argentina's World Cup Final Defeat to Spain

Lionel Scaloni, head coach of the Argentina national team, shared his first comments following their defeat in the 2026 World Cup final.

The final match took place at MetLife Stadium, where Spain secured a 1-0 victory over Argentina.

In remarks published by the Spanish newspaper "AS," Scaloni said, "I feel a sense of sadness right now, but first and foremost I feel eternal gratitude towards those players because reaching this stage was extremely difficult."

He continued, "We are great in victory, and we want to be great in defeat. We must always remember what we delivered. We gave everything. I know we gave everything on the pitch. I have a lot to say, but there is no need to prolong it."

Scaloni added, "Honestly, Spain was better than us, but I focus on what we have achieved so far. We showed that we know how to lose and accept things. I want to thank the fans and my players. I want to tell the country that we did all we could. We wished to win, but I only have words of thanks. You can play well or poorly, but when you give your best, this is how you rise. Finding fault is pointless."

He concluded, "None of us in the coaching staff ever imagined being in this position. To move forward, there are many things to do, especially rebuilding something like this, which is unlikely to be repeated. This hurts my soul deeply."

Argentina failed to defend their World Cup title for the second consecutive time after winning the tournament in 2022, which was held in Qatar.