Washington, Dec 6 || Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni insisted his team will stick to the principles that carried them to glory at Qatar 2022 as the world champions assessed their opponents for next year’s global tournament. Drawn into Group J alongside Algeria, Austria and debutants Jordan, the Albiceleste were widely seen back home as having received a favourable path — though Scaloni was quick to stress that nothing would be taken lightly.
“We are going to give the maximum and try to do what we did in the last World Cup, which is to give everything we can, not to give a ball up for lost,” Scaloni said. The coach entered the draw ceremony holding the World Cup trophy, a reminder of the standard Argentina will once again be expected to meet.
While the group was met with optimism in Buenos Aires, Scaloni sounded a note of caution, particularly with a tricky knockout path likely to await Argentina. Should they progress, they will face a last-32 clash with a team from Group H — led by tournament heavyweights Spain and Uruguay, along with Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde.