Lionel Scaloni remains an unsung hero behind the victory of Argentina in the final of the FIFA World Cup against France on December 18, 2022, in Qatar.
Argentina took the final of the FIFA World Cup 2022 to the very end despite Mbappe coming on strong with a hat trick. The team won the penalty shootout 4-2 after a three-goal lead was equalized in the final seconds of extra time.
Lionel Messi is a legend to a large number of fans. It was actually Lionel Scaloni who changed the tides in their favor. Messi’s double will always be remembered. Now is the time to talk about that one tactic by Scaloni that instantly put Argentina in the driving seat.
A newly appointed head coach in 2018 was tasked with many responsibilities during France’s period of all-around excellence.
The media had made two predictions on the formation of the Argentine team. First, it was anticipated that Lisandro Martinez would play center back. According to the media, Maria was to remain on the bench. Scaloni did the opposite with great regard for France, a team he was tasked with observing at the last FIFA World Cup.
Next, Di Maria was anticipated to play wide right in the 4-4-2 configuration. Hernandez has struggled a bit over the last several games. Instead, Di Maria covered the entire front line from the wide left position. This put France in a difficult situation because Tchouameni and Rabiot had a longer distance to cover. In addition, Griezmann struggled to support his attacking instinct.
The tournament was in their favor, but a minor modification by Scaloni made it difficult for France to act on their strategy. With help from Lionel Messi, Di Maria scored the goal that won the game for Argentina in the 36th minute.
The game appeared to be on the verge of resembling the Quarter-Finals, in which the Netherlands and Argentina had to decide the winner via a penalty shootout. This did happen in the last round of the tournament, along with Argentina’s second win in the match that decided who won the FIFA World Cup.
A Saudi Arabian setback prompted immediate responses to similar situations. Scaloni advocated the substitution of Alvarez for Lautaro Martinez. The wise choice to send Fernandez onto the field helped to achieve this.
Scaloni has no previous coaching experience at the senior level. Everything was achievable because of his willingness and desire to win the trophy. Because of his foresight, the formation change against the Netherlands and Croatia worked brilliantly.
The ‘core group’ of the Argentine football team actually began taking shape after the 2019 Copa America in Brazil, where the team lost to Brazil in the Semi-Final. An attempt to imitate France went down the drain. Scaloni went on a spree where he brought together a team that would do anything to support Messi in finding the back of the net and winning the game for the nation.
