Argentina prepares – Lionel Scaloni insists Argentina’s lineup plans for its Jordan group finale won’t be shaped by the round of 32 opponent, even as the team prepares for a July 3 matchup with Cape Verde if the Blue Sharks are beaten. With Lionel Messi coming off the bench and ro
ARLINGTON, TX — Lionel Scaloni stepped into his pre-match news conference with a simple message: the opponent arriving next doesn’t get to steer tomorrow’s choices.
Argentina still has one group match to play against Jordan at Dallas Stadium. But the defending world champions already know the next stage they’re heading toward. In the World Cup round of 32. Argentina will face Cape Verde. and Scaloni has been keeping his squad from looking past the immediate test.
That July 3 showdown is set for the round after Jordan. regardless of the result of Argentina’s final group contest because Argentina will advance as the winner. Scaloni said he didn’t know the identity of the opponent earlier in the day when he spoke. yet he made it clear the team would treat whichever side comes with the same caution.
He also rejected the idea that Argentina’s plan for Jordan could be tailored around Cape Verde.
“The decision about who plays tomorrow isn’t related to who we’re playing against in the next round,” Scaloni said. “Saying I prefer one or the other would be a total lack of respect because the reality is I don’t prefer either one.”
“I’d prefer for the World Cup to end tomorrow, and we be champion! Because, the reality is you’re seeing things that we’ve always said but are coming true. The opponents are very difficult. We’re in no position to choose or prefer. That’s not how it is.”
As Argentina turns its attention to Jordan, the rotation is already part of the plan. Scaloni said he would rotate his team for the group finale, with Lionel Messi coming off the bench and other alternate players getting opportunities to shine.
Still, the managerial stance was blunt: the match to come after Jordan shouldn’t change how Argentina approaches the match in front of it.
It’s a psychological tightrope that matters for a team whose route to the later stages could look different from some title rivals. The winner of Argentina’s match with Cape Verde would move to the round of 16 contest against the winner of a match between Australia and the runner-up of Group G — a group that could include Egypt. Iran or Belgium.
Scaloni’s emphasis on the act of representing the country carries history with it. He appeared for Argentina just seven times, and he was an unexpected selection to the 2006 World Cup squad, playing in exactly one game. That experience seems to shape how he talks about the shirt’s meaning.
He said Friday that players have to take representing their country seriously, and he described an attitude he has seen in the current group.
“I think that playing with this shirt means it doesn’t matter the moment. if you need points. if the players who haven’t played the last game are playing. it doesn’t matter. ” he said. “This shirt implies coming out to play, doing it well and trying to win every game. I never deviate from this point of view.”.
Scaloni also described the emotional rhythm of preparation — the anxiety and the focus.
“We’re in the same mode we were in the in the first day, ready to see the guys, anxious, nervous, analyzing the opponent because the Argentina national team shirt involves all of that. … The way of preparing a match is always the same.”
That message appears to be landing with players who already view the team as a veteran group. Their formation is tied to what Scaloni’s generation calls both lessons and momentum: frustrations from near-misses. alongside the success of the 2022 World Cup and the 2019 and 2024 Copa América tournaments.
Defender Nicolás Tagliafico put it in terms of mentality and difficulty for opponents.
“For me. every player. every part of the national wants to be in the national team. to do the best for their teammates and when you get 10. 15. 20 players together with the same mentality. it’s very difficult for an opponent to try to win. ” Tagliafico said Friday. “Adding that to the quality the players we have makes us a very tough national team.”.
For now. Argentina’s schedule keeps coming in layers: Jordan first at Dallas Stadium. then Cape Verde in the round of 32 on July 3. with Scaloni hoping the same approach can carry through four more matches toward a successful title defense. He has repeated throughout the summer that the teams able to handle pressure will be the ones left standing.
“At the end, the powerful national teams will be there.”
Argentina Lionel Scaloni Cape Verde Jordan Dallas Stadium Lionel Messi World Cup round of 32 Nicolás Tagliafico rotating lineup
So wait Cape Verde is just the next opponent no matter what? I’m confused but sounds like Argentina already knows they’re winning.
Messi coming off the bench again?? That’s wild. Like if they already know they’ll play Cape Verde after, why not just go all out vs Jordan? Or is this some 4D chess thing.
I feel like Scaloni said it won’t be shaped by the round of 32 opponent, but then he literally said they’ll prepare for Cape Verde if Jordan gets beaten… so it’s kinda the same thing lol. Also “Argentina will advance as the winner”?? Pretty sure it doesn’t work like that. ESPN must’ve cut something.
Argentina actin like nobody can control anything but they’re literally controlling who plays tomorrow by deciding lineup rotation. And Arlington TX?? I just hope Messi starts the next game because if it’s all bench again then what’s the point. Blue Sharks sounds like a mascot, not a real team.