(Football news) Scaloni became the third member of Argentina’s team from the FIFA World Cup to win an award on the night as Emiliano Martinez was awarded the Best FIFA Goalkeeper of the Year award and Messi was awarded with the Best FIFA player of the Year. He beat the likes of Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti to win the award. He helped La Albiceleste beat Australia, Netherlands and Croatia en route to the final. They then played one of the most memorable finals as Lionel Scaloni’s men beat then reigning champions France 4-2 on penalties. It was his second trophy for Argentina, having lifted the Copa America in 2021.
He celebrated the award by signing a new contract until the 2026 World Cup as the Argentine football federation announced it on Monday. Argentine football chief Claudio Tapia and Lionel Scaloni met in Bueno Aires to finalise the extension of his contract until 2026,” a statement from the federation . Scaloni, who recently turned 44, won the Albiceleste’s first international trophy since 1993. He took over as coach from Jorge Sampaoli after their last-16 exit at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, initially on an interim basis before making the job his own.At the time, not everyone was a fan of his appointment at the helm of the national team.
Scaloni had no previous experience as a head coach, and was subsequently only supposed to be in charge for two months while the Argentine federation actually searched for Sampaoli’s successor. He inherited a squad which was filled with players who played the 2014 World Cup final defeat followed by back-to-back Copa America final losses to Chile on penalties in 2015 and 2016. His vision for the team impressed everyone as Scaloni led Argentina on a 36-match unbeaten run heading into last year’s World Cup. He guided Argentina to the 2021 Copa America where they beat Brazil as they ended a 28-year trophy drought. Scaloni will get the chance to defend their world title in the 2026 World Cup jointly hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada.
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