Scaloni fumes over Finalissima date between Argentina and Spain | OneFootball

Less than a year before the 2026 World Cup and with the Argentine National Team already qualified, the focus is on the Finalissima against Spain. Everything indicates it will take place in March, but Lionel Scaloni expressed his opposition to the date and criticized the poor organization: “There was time to do it earlier.”

Just like what happened against Italy in 2022, facing La Roja represents a major challenge that prepares the Albiceleste for the World Cup in June. Not so for the coach, for whom it is a source of stress. “I would have preferred not to play the Finalissima before the World Cup,” he confessed in an interview with TNT Sports.

The main reason for a tight and almost inflexible schedule is the Nations League, a tournament that took up a lot of space and delayed things due to a decision by European football. “Spain couldn’t because of the Nations League, which they invented, and it killed South America,” he said. The schedule was affected and the most feasible date is March 2026, just three months before the World Cup to be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

The European national team tournament, in which Spain lost in the final to Portugal, took up all the previous options and, as the coach points out, left the American continent exposed and forced to adapt to a date when the focus should be on preparing for a title defense. However, it seems to be a done deal and there’s nothing left but to accept it and analyze the next opponent.

“Winning is very difficult and doing it against teams of that level is complex. You can’t make mistakes. The important thing is to feel capable of fighting for a World Cup. We’re going to work hard in the months we have left, and we have to hope there are no injuries,” he said about the Finalissima.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.