Scaloni makes his 100th match with Argentina: "If we lose... There are no easy matches?"
Argentina overcame Cape Verde 3-2 after extra time and advanced to the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, Scaloni celebrated his 100th match as head coach.
Argentina advanced to the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, but they had to struggle to defeat Cape Verde. The team led by Lionel Scaloni only won after extra time with a score of 3-2, thereby gaining the right to meet Egypt in the next round. At the end of a tense match, coach Scaloni, who became the world champion, reminded that this competition always contains surprises, and did not forget to respond to the opinions that Argentina had an easy bracket: "Do you remember when we said we were in the easy bracket? Hopefully you have realized that there are no simple matches," he announced at the press conference. Scaloni, with emotions running high after the final whistle, admitted that it would be painful to leave the game in his 100th match as Argentina head coach. "It would be crazy to lose in my 100th game as manager, but that's football," he revealed. "Perhaps, out of the 100 games I have led, this one left the deepest impression." The coach praised the team's response in the most difficult times. "This team never gives up. We must also praise Cape Verde, because when it is said that there are no easy opponents in a World Cup, today we have proof of that." He also explained that extra time had a big impact on the team's fitness. "Until the 90th minute, we were fine. Enzo Fernández finished the match with cramps and we had no other substitutions. In such cases, you have to play with heart, and that's what our team showed." In the end, Scaloni admitted that he never thought about winning the right to continue. "I'm a skeptic and never felt like I was qualified before the whistle blew. With experience, I've learned that in football, everything can change in a single moment. This match was very complicated and could have gone differently." Argentina will now meet Egypt in the round of 16. If they win, the Albiceleste will face the winner of the match between Switzerland and Colombia in the quarter-finals.
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