Scaloni urges focus as Argentina draw ‘favourable’ group for 2026 title defence

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. “As in 2022, we say that there is no easy opponent. You have to play the games. If it is then that the group (H), the crossover is difficult. But first we have to get through and then we’ll see,” Scaloni said. He was generous in his assessment of Argentina’s group rivals. Algeria, he noted, were “a good team with great players” and guided by Vladimir Petkovic, who previously coached Scaloni during their time together at Lazio. Austria, meanwhile, were praised for their “great qualifying round” after finishing top of their group. Jordan, making their debut on this stage, were the unknown element — though that hardly made them any less dangerous in Scaloni’s eyes. The coach acknowledged the lingering lessons from Qatar, where Argentina suffered a 2-1 shock defeat to Saudi Arabia in their opening match. “We have that experience, we have to play the match,” he said when asked about the prospect of facing Jordan.