Scaloni admits Lautaro Martinez ‘not happy’ with him while Inter send message to Argentina hero | OneFootball

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni is delighted that Lautaro Martinez showed the right attitude after coming off the bench in the Copa America Final against Colombia, while the Nerazzurri praise their captain for his decisive goal: ‘No one deserves it more.’

A Lautaro Martinez goal in the extra time of the Copa America Final between Argentina and Colombia on Sunday night allowed La Seleccion to win their second consecutive continental trophy at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

The Inter captain had started from the bench and was introduced in the second half alongside Roma midfielder Leandro Paredes who provided the assist for El Toro.

“Lautaro never stopped working, and he deserved to score because he suffered after being excluded from the starting XI despite being the [tournament’s] leading scorer,” said Scaloni, as quoted by FcInter1908.

“He won’t be happy with me and he is surely right because he wants to play, but this is what he has to do. We may or may not make errors, but we thought the team had to play like this, and we won.”

Lautaro has just ended an unforgettable season, becoming the leading scorer in Serie A and Copa America and winning the Scudetto with the Nerazzurri, plus the Copa America with his national team.

“When we won the World Cup in Qatar and I received the gold medal, I was very happy with what we had achieved, but I felt personally in debt because my ankle hadn’t allowed me to do what I wanted,” Lautaro told reporters last night, as quoted by Gazzetta.

“The Copa America is not quite like the World Cup, but I can say that I prepared myself in the best way to play in this competition and make up for it.”

Defending Serie A champions Inter have been praising their captain on social media. In one message, they wrote, “You decided it! No one deserves it more, captain.”

Lautaro will soon sign a contract extension with Inter until June 2029.