A tearful Lionel Scaloni left his press conference early in East Rutherford on Sunday night, saying Argentina's 1-0 World Cup final defeat to Spain "hurts me in the soul." He committed only to seeing out his contract, which expires in December, before deciding whether to continue as national team coach.
Ferran Torres's goal in the 106th minute of extra time settled the final, ending Argentina's bid to become the first side since Brazil in 1962 to retain the trophy. Enzo Fernández had been sent off late in regulation, leaving the holders to chase the game a man down.
Asked directly about his future, Scaloni stopped short of a resignation. "I will complete my contract and then see," he said. "I will talk with the president, but I more or less have an idea of what I want to do."
"Honestly, I feel the need to think," he added, "because I don't know if we'll be able to do something as grand as this."
The 48-year-old struggled to hold his composure as the questions continued. "Bear with me, I don't know if I can continue," he said, before standing up and apologising. "It's really painful, I am very sorry," he told the room, and walked out to applause from the Argentine journalists present.
He offered a glimpse of how heavy another cycle would feel. "In order to continue you need a great deal of things, especially resetting your mind, rebooting, creating a group like this again," he said. The likely first step, he added, was "to relax and to stop for a bit."
Scaloni has led Argentina since 2018, when he took over on an interim basis after a chastening tournament in Russia. He rebuilt the squad around Lionel Messi and delivered the Copa América in 2021, ending a 28-year title drought.
That triumph was followed by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and a second Copa América in 2024, cementing his place among the most successful coaches in the country's history.
His deal with the Argentine federation runs to the end of 2026, and a decision on his future is expected only after he sits down with president Claudio Tapia. For now, the coach who restored Argentina to the top of the world game has promised nothing beyond December — and made no secret of how much Sunday cost him.
