Scaloni, after the beating of his debut: “It was a sad day but we have to continue”

Lionel Scaloni He felt the same frustration as all Argentines after the failed debut and the hard blow of defeat with Saudi Arabia. Her body spoke and looked slumped and pained. Even if, at the same time, with the certainty of being able to reverse this unexpected event in the next two games: Mexico, on Saturday, and Poland, on Wednesday the 30th.

“It’s a sad day but we have to go on. We were doing well, that’s the reality. But football and big competitions have these things, they can’t give you the chance to make mistakes. Unfortunately that’s how it went and there’s no other choice than to get up, there is no other reading “We will try to get up and continue to climb. And it goes beyond expectations because the team played a good game in the first half. And if things went better we could have gone 2-0 up, but it wasn’t like that and then in a few minutes the match changed, now it’s time to get up” Scaloni said in one of the passages of the press conference held earlier starting the Lusail stadium, where the Argentine team fell 2-1 against Saudi Arabia debuting in Qatar World Cup.

Scaloni has repeatedly referred to the situations in which Argentina fell in advanced position, especially in the play of Lautaro Martínez’s disallowed goal, which could have been 2-0 for Argentina. “The main reasons for the defeat were the millimeter offside. We had seen that any situation could be like this because we knew Saudi Arabia played like this and because of the new regulations these forward positions are charged and we accepted it, but at another time those situations were a goal” he explained.

And the Argentine coach, the youngest in the World Cup at 44, continued with his analysis of the match: “I think the first half was all ours. And the second half was strange and they equalized and immediately scored the I’ll double up now. I’ll talk about it with the boys, who are in pain, but it was difficult to assimilate because in three or four minutes they scored two goals with their only shots on target. But there is no choice but to stand up and try to win the next game.”

Of the rival, the Argentine DT commented: “We respect Saudi Arabia one hundred per cent, as we respect everyone. They have a good team, with players who are technically and physically capable. What comes next is to raise our heads, face Mexico, before , and then Poland , two other complicated rivals who are trying to win both matches with the difficulties that this entails”.

Did physical appearance affect it? “No, because the goals came in the first minutes of the second half and they were played very quickly and very isolated. In their first goal we had the ball, we lost it, we recovered it and we lost it again quickly. And the second goal also came from the game. I don’t think it was due to the physique. In principle, everyone is fine in this respect,” replied the man from Pujato.

And on the changes, Scaloni explained: “The changes are not due to physical problems. We are looking for a way out with Lisandro (Martínez), with Julián (Álvarez) more presence and run after the defenders. When the result is negative, something else is sought. With Julián (Álvarez) as well as his presence in the box, we want him to go behind the defenders. Well the guys who entered. Enzo (Fernández), Lisandro (Martínez) and also the Egg (Acuña). But the dynamics of the match were already different and you had to go and look for the result to try to overturn it and you didn’t succeed.”

And with respect to what is to come, the coach remarked: “Just as before the match they gave us as favourites, nor are we lost now. We know the World Cup has these things. It can be complicated by one play and in the same way that if we had won, we would be ready to stand up and try to think about winning the game and work on the aspects that weren’t done well. It doesn’t change the analysis for the outcome.”

Then, in a tone of hope, he closed: “Losing is never nice, neither the first nor the second, nor the third. It’s never the time to lose, especially when we come from a positive streak. We told a certain point could break but, fortunately, there are two games ahead to reverse the course”.

Doha, Qatar. Special Envoys.

GL