Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni spoke about Lionel Messi and the World Cup.
Lionel Scaloni played in one World Cup as a player. At the 2006 World Cup, he was part of the starting eleven that played against Mexico when Maxi Rodriguez scored his memorable goal.
Scaloni will now train for the World Cup. He was part of the coaching staff of the 2018 World Cup and was appointed coach shortly after the tournament. In an interview with ESPN, Scaloni mentioned how Lionel Messi found out he was going to be a coach. Here is what he had to say:
“After Russia we called him with Pablo (Aimaro) from Valencia to tell him that wer will take over temporarily. S Masche (Javier Mascherano) was the captain of the national team. It was about time he heard it from us.
“He showed love for the national team. That reflects on his teammates. That desire he shows to win. It was all very natural.”
Regarding the Qatar 2022 World Cup:
“The first is Saudi Arabia. Those three are hard, but the first one has something different. it’s a debut.
“Then, Mexico, historically we know they grow at World Cups. They have a great coach (Gerardo Martino) and great players. The European opponent is Poland. In addition to qualifying through the play-offs, they have their players, Lewandowski, Zielinski, players of a good level.
“I’m going match by match. It’s pointless to say we’re going to win (the World Cup). It’s a lie, there are great national teams. Yes, we’re going to compete. This team can compete with anyone.
“There are 10 teams that will fight for the World Cup.”
To the roster for the World Cup:
“We don’t exclude anything because it’s not good and we shouldn’t. We are very clear that the list will include those who were with us. We still have a reasonable amount of time.”
He also spoke about a goal he celebrated as a coach:
“I celebrated Lautaro’s (Martínez) goal against Bolivia with them (the players) because I believed that the goal could mean something. I felt that the goal was important, we suffered at height.”
