Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has rejected criticism of his team’s World Cup performances, insisting the defending champions have earned their place in the semi-finals and remain fully focused on beating England.
Argentina face England in Atlanta on Wednesday, with the winners advancing to Sunday’s World Cup final against Spain.
Despite winning all six matches at the tournament, Argentina have faced criticism after needing extra time to beat Cape Verde and Switzerland, while they also recovered from two goals down to defeat Egypt in the last 16.
Scaloni, however, believes those results prove his team’s resilience rather than expose weaknesses.
“The team isn’t playing as bad as people say. We must have done something right to reach this stage,” Scaloni said.
The Argentina coach praised his players for extending one of the most successful periods in the country’s football history.
“I’m grateful to the players. They’ve led us to three titles and now another semi-final. We’re just one step away, and we’re going to give it our all to get there.”
Scaloni admitted Argentina have not always played the football he envisioned, but said results matter far more at this stage of the competition.
“Honestly, I don’t dwell on whether we’re playing exactly the way I wanted,” he said.
“A month and a half ago, I would have taken a place in the World Cup semi-final however it came.”
“It doesn’t matter to me. Whether we’re tired or not makes no difference. We’re in a World Cup semi-final. We’re excited, we’re happy and we’re ready to play.”
Argentina are chasing a fourth consecutive World Cup final-four appearance after reaching the semi-finals in 2014, 2018, 2022 and now 2026. Scaloni has also guided the team to the 2021 and 2024 Copa America titles.
The meeting with England also revives one of football’s fiercest rivalries. However, Scaloni insisted the match should not become linked to the 1982 Falklands War.
“The reality is that this is a football match,” he said.
“It was a very sad period in our history, and there isn’t much we can do about it.”
“We criticise the existence of war, so for me to say this is anything more than a football match seems crazy. We remember those people, of course, but we shouldn’t confuse the two.”
England arrive after a 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway, while Argentina will attempt to extend their 12-match World Cup winning streak and move one step closer to retaining the trophy.
