Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni has stuck two fingers up at snipers who have accused his World Cup chasers of being bad winners.
The South Americans have copped flak for their snarling celebrations at the end of their bad-tempered quarter-final victory against the Netherlands. Dutch noses were put out of joint with boss Louis van Gaal leading the line of critics accusing the Argentine contingent of s***house behaviour.
Scaloni snapped back and defended his men – and he’s adamant the fallout from the fiery clash won’t derail his side’s dream of crushing Croatia on the way to Sunday’s Final. The Albicelestes were accused of taunting their rivals in the wake of Friday’s dramatic – and controversial – encounter in Qatar where Argentina blew a two goal lead before going through on penalties.
Blunder ref Antonio Mateu Lahoz has been sent home after looking the plot on an epic night where he dug out a record 17 yellow cards and sent off Holland’s Denzel Dumfries after the final whistle. The whistler was slammed by both sides but Argentina are determined to put the Dutch rammy to bed and deal with Croatia on Wednesday.
But Scaloni said: “We know how to win, I do not accept these criticisms. And it all ends when the referee whistles the end. It’s all there. We respect Holland, we respect Croatia and all opponents. We have to put an end to this conversation that we don’t know how to win or we don’t know how to lose.
“It has nothing to do with who we are as a team, as a group. The game against the Netherlands was played as it had to be played, both on the side of the Netherlands and Argentina. Sometimes you have to attack, sometimes you have to defend.
“There is a referee to do justice. We know how to win and we know how to lose. We lost against Saudi Arabia and quietly went to the locker room to prepare for the next game. We won the 2021 Copa America and saw the most beautiful image in football, which was Messi, Neymar and Paredes sitting side by side.”
Scaloni’s focus is on the Croats and keeping Lionel Messi ’s date with destiny. The superstar is looking crown his spectacular career by getting his hands on the one trophy that’s been so far out of reach.
Messi has been a man on a mission and his gaffer admitted the attacker’s ability even makes his coaching staff jealous. Scaloni said: “He’s always been like that, he’s always been a winner. He has pride and a will to continue playing football that makes you envious.
“Let’s see if we continue playing in the Cup or not. Let’s keep enjoying. And if he does well, we all do well. We still have a long way to go.”
Argentina suffered a false start against Saudi Arabia in the group stage but are not just one step from the final – where they are big favourites to beat Croatia. Scaloni won’t look beyond the brilliant Balkans though, who have stunned several huge names on their path towards a second successive Final.
The Argentina gaffer said: “We expect a very difficult game, against a team that can really be called a team. A great team, a great group and that will make things difficult for us. Comparisons with previous World Cups don’t make sense, every game is different. They are a great team, with great players. It will be a complicated match.”
Croatia have been masters at shutting games down and then pouncing when the time comes. They’ve reached the last four despite winning only one of their five matches in Qatar – the 4-1 victory against Canada in the groups.
The Croats drew with Belgium and Morocco in the round robin phase before penalty shoot out wins against Japan and then Brazil in the knockout stages. Scaloni insisted his side won’t change they way they play to deal with the counter-attacking masters.
He said: “We have a marked way of playing. Of course, we have to think about the rival, about the things he can do well. We talk to the players, as always, we discuss, we share the feelings that each one has. But our way of playing will always be the same. And that’s what we’re going to do.
“We always look at previous matches, what we can improve, and try to damage the rival. It doesn’t mean that we only think about ourselves. Croatia have huge players, they have already caused problems for all rivals in this Cup. And we have to keep an eye out and work out a way to damage them.
“Look for their defects, which I won’t say here. That’s what we work on.”
Scaloni will have Angel Di Maria fit to face Croatia but he admits the showdown is now in the lap of the gods. He said: “We have been playing decisive matches since we lost to Saudi Arabia. All were huge.
“Everyone knows it’s a game, that we have to give it our all. Luck can turn its back on you, as it did at the end of the game against the Netherlands. But we take it naturally. We know that it is something important for the people, but we also know that it is a sport and that the best does not always win.”
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