3 min readJul 20, 2026 02:10 PM IST
Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni was overcome by emotion and broke down in tears after his side’s 1-0 extra-time defeat to Spain in the FIFA World Cup final on Sunday.
Scaloni’s men were on the verge of becoming the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win successive World Cups, but Luis de la Fuente’s Spain proved too much for La Albiceleste, with Ferran Torres’s extra-time strike stunning Scaloni’s men.
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The contract of the 48-year old with Argentine Football Association (AFA) runs until December and when he was asked about his future with the team during the press conference, Scaloni said: “I will talk to the president. I have an idea of what I would like to do. I will see out my contract and I feel the need… I don’t know if something as big can be done. We need to speak this through.”
“I am thankful to the president for bringing me this chance of being in this place where I am at the moment. It was a dream place for everyone. We have tried up until the very last minute to give our utmost, the staff and players. I believe it’s only fair that I can take this time for myself to think this through,” a grateful Scaloni further added.
Scaloni was in line to become just the second manager since Vittorio Pozzo (who guided Italy to world titles in 1934 and 1938), to retain the trophy after overseeing Argentina’s 2022 triumph in Qatar but destiny was in Spain’s favour.
“Bear with me, I don’t know if I can continue. This place is wonderful, it is a dream place. We would never have imagined, including my staff, that we would be in this place,” said an emotional Scaloni who talked through his tears.
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“In order to continue you need a great deal of things, especially resetting your mind, rebooting, creating a group like this again. That is very difficult to create again.”
He stood up and apologised to the media before leaving the room as he explained how hard it was for him to take it as a manager.
“Its really painful, I am very sorry,” were the words by the Argentine manager before leaving.
