Scaloni on Ecuador loss: They're a good side, caused us problems | OneFootball

The coach of the Argentina National Team explained the defeat by crediting the opponent’s merits, admitted that the team suffered at times, and regretted not being able to complete his planned testing: “Because of the sending off, 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 winner’s merits, under the premise that it’s impossible to always win. “We’re fortunately used to winning all the time and sometimes it’s just not your turn,” he downplayed the drama of what happened on the field, where he also delved into the match’s development.

“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 we had starting the second half of having a sending off, the match got a bit distorted and we couldn’t create or get to goal-scoring situations, but always positive because the team tries, shows up, in its own way, playing. The second half was ours although we could have done a bit more, so we keep going.”

“It’s hard to analyze because after the sending off the match was different, until that moment Ecuador played a good game, they’re a great team, and if they play like today, they’ll bring joy to their people,” he said, and revealed that Nicolás Otamendi’s red card frustrated 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 World Cup opener, although there’s 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 possibility of a sending off and missing the first game 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 on well, he has personality, he likes to play with the ball, he receives it, but he came on at a rather low point in the match and there were no spaces. He’s getting more minutes in 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 discuss World Cup favorites: “Making predictions about who’s going to win is very difficult, but I can say that there are very good teams that will make things very tough for their rivals.”

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