Scaloni shows relief and emotion with Argentina’s victory

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni tried to describe his feeling after the 2-0 victory over Mexico on Saturday night (26). He expressed relief with the result, which prevented his team’s elimination from the World Cup.

“It’s exciting to see our players playing. Anyone who doesn’t identify with this team is because they don’t like the Argentine team. It’s not the same thing to play with this shirt or another”, he said.

Television cameras captured Scaloni close to tears at the moment of Enzo Fernández’s goal, which closed the scoring. The result was important after the surprising 2-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia in the debut.

The coach had been worried about the performance in the first half and celebrated the improvement in the final stage, during which the goals were scored. “We corrected it at halftime and started to play better, hitting the middle. The 10 [ Messi] defined the game and he knows he has a group behind him that supports him,” he said.

For Scaloni, the match against the Mexicans was “terribly difficult”. “It’s not easy playing these games. I’m proud of what our players have done.”