Scaloni on Ecuador loss: They're a good side, made it tough for us | OneFootball

The coach of the Argentina National Team explained the defeat by giving credit to the opponent, admitted that the team suffered at times, and regretted not being able to complete his planned testing: “Because of the red card, we were left wanting to see other guys.”

The coach of the Argentina National Team, Lionel Scaloni, spoke this Tuesday after the loss in Guayaquil against Ecuador by 1-0 and analyzed the match based on the merits of the winner, under the premise that it’s impossible to always win. “We are, fortunately, constantly used to winning and sometimes it’s just not your turn,” he downplayed the drama of what happened on the field, and also delved into how the match unfolded.

“When the opponent plays, sometimes you have to suffer. We suffered at times, especially when we were down to 10 men. It was tough, but we were always in the game,” he emphasized, and then added: “With the fear that came when we started the second half of getting a red card, the match lost some of its shape and we couldn’t create or get into scoring situations, but it’s always positive because the team tries, stands up, in its own way, playing. The second half was ours even though we could have done more, so we have to keep going.”

“It’s hard to analyze because after the red card, the match was different, up until that point Ecuador played a good game, they’re a great team and if they play like today, they’ll bring joy to their fans,” he said, and revealed that Nicolás Otamendi’s red card ruined his plans: “We were left wanting to see other guys but now we have other matches ahead.” At another point, he praised his colleague Sebastián Beccacece, with whom he worked on Jorge Sampaoli’s coaching staff at Russia 2018: “Sebastián is doing very well so I have to congratulate him.”

Regarding Otamendi’s red card, the coach said he won’t be available for the start of the World Cup, although there is still uncertainty about whether the Finalissima against Spain will be played in March, where he could serve the suspension. “It’s a shame for Ota, we knew the risk of playing this match with the red card and missing the first match of the World Cup,” he stated.

On who wore Lionel Messi’s shirt, Scaloni explained: “The number 10 was going to be worn by Thiago Almada but he couldn’t be part of the squad and we gave it to Franco (Mastantuono), we preferred not to risk him. He came in well, has personality, likes to play with the ball, receives it, but he came in at a rather low point of the match and there was no space. He’s getting minutes with this team.”

“Messi was coming off an injury. We decided not to risk him but I haven’t spoken to him again,” he said about the star’s absence, and didn’t want to talk about World Cup favorites: “Making predictions about who will win is very difficult, but I can say that there are very good teams that will make it very tough for their rivals.”

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