"I don't think we're on the same level," Lionel Scaloni says whenever anyone compares him to Menotti or Bilardo. He's about to lead Argentina into a second consecutive World Cup, having already won it once and added two Copa Américas either side. And he still won't take the credit.
That's not false modesty. That's just Scaloni.
The man who stood motionless on the sideline in Lusail as Gonzalo Montiel converted the decisive penalty against France — while 40,000 people lost their minds around him — is exactly the same man preparing Argentina for the 2026 tournament. Unbothered. Unhurried. Two to three hours on a bicycle every day through the mountains of Mallorca, clearing his head before anyone else has opened their laptop.
The cyclist building a dynasty
It sounds like a quirky detail. It's actually central to understanding how he operates. Former Spanish tennis player Carlos Moyá got him into cycling after retirement, and Scaloni took to it seriously. "On the bike, you can think about your team, your opponent, how to prepare for the match," he's said. "It really clears my head. I use it as therapy."
Diego Maradona once said he "couldn't direct traffic." Scaloni acknowledged the point without bitterness — "He wasn't far off" — and then went on to coach Argentina to a World Cup, two continental titles, and top spot in CONMEBOL qualifying. He's earned the right to be serene about it.
Now comes the harder part. Brazil were the last nation to defend the World Cup, back in 1962. Nobody's managed it since. Argentina open Group J on June 16 in Kansas City against Algeria, then face Austria and Jordan. The group is manageable on paper, but the path from there will be anything but.
Messi at 38, and a squad with something to prove
Twenty of the 26 players from Qatar are back in Scaloni's preliminary 55-man roster. The spine is intact. The problem — if you can call it that — is that Lionel Messi is 38 and has already missed matches in qualifying with physical issues. Argentina navigated those absences, which is either reassuring or a sign of how reliant on him they've been across the cycle. Probably both.
Scaloni has been unambiguous with his players: a World Cup winners' medal does not secure your place. "With this jersey, you don't have time to relax and think your place is secure," he said late last year. Given the turmoil inside the AFA — corruption accusations, league format disputes, a preparation schedule that included friendlies against Indonesia, Puerto Rico, Angola, Mauritania, and Zambia — he's had to project stability from the outside while managing chaos within.
He nearly walked away in November 2023, casting doubt on his future after the win over Brazil in qualifying. He stayed, attributed the outburst to stress over his parents' health, and said nothing more about it publicly. Whether that's the full story or not, he's still here, still negotiating a contract extension, still saying the right things.
- Argentina open vs Algeria — June 16, Kansas City (Group J)
- Second group game vs Austria — June 22
- Third group game vs Jordan — June 27
Jorge Valdano, who won the 1986 World Cup with Argentina, put it simply: "Argentina has achieved the best thing a national team can achieve: being a team. Players who haven't lost their hunger." That hunger, and the structure Scaloni has built around it, is the real betting factor here. Not Messi's age. Not the soft friendlies. Not the AFA noise.
"Every time Argentina goes to a World Cup, it will try to reach its full potential. It's very difficult, but not impossible," Scaloni said. Coming from someone who stood still while the world exploded around him — that's not a nothing statement.
