{"id":803276,"date":"2026-07-15T10:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T10:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/803276\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T10:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T10:20:10","slug":"argentina-happy-to-be-in-world-cup-semifinal-coach-scaloni-says-world-cup-2026-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/803276\/","title":{"rendered":"Argentina happy to be in World Cup semifinal, coach Scaloni says | World Cup 2026 News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"World<\/a><\/p>\n

Argentina are \u2018in good shape\u2019 and have no concerns over fatigue as the world champions look to book another final.<\/p>\n

Published On 15 Jul 202615 Jul 2026<\/p>\n

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni says he is not concerned about fatigue or his team\u2019s performance before another FIFA World Cup semifinal as they prepare to renew their rivalry with England on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The World Cup holders will be seeking to make it to consecutive finals by beating Thomas Tuchel\u2019s side in a fixture that evokes 1986 and Diego Maradona, as well as the lingering sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in good shape, and we really can\u2019t wait. This is a World Cup semifinal, and our hopes are intact. We are so grateful to these players for getting us here again,\u201d Scaloni told reporters on the eve of the showdown in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

Argentina, with an ageing side led by a 39-year-old Lionel Messi, have had to battle their way through the knockout rounds to get here.<\/p>\n

Twice they were pegged back before beating Cape Verde 3-2 in extra time. Then they needed a late comeback to defeat Egypt 3-2 in Atlanta, before requiring another draining half-an-hour of extra time to sink 10-man Switzerland 3-1 last Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cA month and a half ago, I would have taken getting to the semifinal if you had offered me that, so I don\u2019t mind how we got here,\u201d said Scaloni, who coached the Albiceleste to glory in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t reproach my players. Whether we are tired or not, I don\u2019t care. This is a World Cup semifinal.\u201d<\/p>\n

England and Argentina have clashed on five previous World Cup occasions, most notably the 1986 quarterfinal when Diego Maradona opened the scoring with the infamous \u201cHand of God\u201d before his superb individual effort sealed victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think everyone remembers that game, and Diego\u2019s performance, above all, the second goal, which will remain in all our hearts because it was so beautiful,\u201d Scaloni said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a marvellous goal, and any football lover remembers it that way. And it just happened to be against England.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tensions simmered that day in Mexico City, with the game played four years after Britain had sent a military task force in 1982 to reclaim the Falkland Islands following an invasion by Argentinian troops.<\/p>\n

Scaloni has in recent days sought to ensure politics stays out of the semifinal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is this is a football match. I am not going to mix everything up, especially regarding things that happened so long ago,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a very sad time in our history, and we can\u2019t do much about it. This is a football game; that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the former West Ham United defender acknowledged that his side will have their work cut out trying to stop England\u2019s star players, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, who have accounted for 12 out of their team\u2019s 13 goals at this tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always look at what we can improve and how we can neutralise these great players in the best way. Maybe we will make a change, but it is also possible that we play the same team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are two great players, among the best in the world. Any coach would like to have them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Argentina are \u2018in good shape\u2019 and have no concerns over fatigue as the world champions look to book…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":803277,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[12624,49,48,527,799,44,561,457,82,13009,13010],"class_list":["post-803276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-argentina","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-football","tag-latin-america","tag-news","tag-soccer","tag-sport","tag-sports","tag-world-cup","tag-world-cup-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=803276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803276\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/803277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=803276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=803276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}