‘We have to be realistic, we have to be better’: Argentina’s Scaloni looks ahead to England

Argentina secured a hard-fought place in the 2026 World Cup semifinals with a 3-1 win over Switzerland, setting up a blockbuster clash with England. Despite the emotion of the moment, head coach Lionel Scaloni kept his feet firmly on the ground, delivering a candid message to his squad.

In his post-match interview, Scaloni was honest about the difficulties Argentina faced at Arrowhead Stadium: “The truth is that today we suffered. We knew they were a very physical team, and we weren’t able to get out of certain situations. We have to be realistic, we need to be better.“

He also took a moment to acknowledge the significance of reaching another semifinal, while quickly shifting focus to what lies ahead. “It is historic. It doesn’t matter whether it’s England or Norway, we are going to face a team that has a great coach. Now we need to recover. That is the important thing,” he concluded.

Scaloni also reflected on how the red card changed the game for Argentina, stating that “the luck was on our side tonight” since from that moment, the team recovered the momentum and the spaces to attack once again.

Scaloni also highlighted the turning point for his team being in the 72nd minute, when Breel Embolo got sent off with his second yellow card. The action came after the “mistaken identity” protocol was triggered, with referee Joao Pinheiro overturning his decision, removing the yellow card from Leandro Paredes and then sending off the Swiss player in a controversial play.

Julian Alvarez on the win

With the match locked in a stalemate, Alvarez broke the deadlock with a stunning finish into the top corner to make it 2-1 in extra time for Argentina, and put Switzerland on the back foot. Lautaro Martinez then added a third to put the result beyond doubt.

Reflecting on his first goal of the 2026 World Cup, Alvarez was visibly emotional: “Very happy! We kept trying until the end; things got difficult. There is always a lot of talk, but we have to focus on our own things, on what we do day to day. The group is in a good place, now it’s time to rest and think about the next one. We would have preferred to win it earlier, but we know it’s not easy. There are two more left and we are going to go for it all.“