WASHINGTON.- In “second half” the 2026 World Cup draw, as determined by the FIFA President himself, Gianni Infantinothe Argentine coach, Lionel Scalonionce again played a central role, as he did in the pompous show on Friday at the Kennedy Center in this capital, when he took the stage to carry the World Cup trophy with white gloves.
This time, An improvised action surprised the world champion coachwho also had to take the stage this Saturday at the event organized by FIFA to announce the venues and times of each of the matches of the first phase. After the game of Group J led by Argentina was announced, Infantino took the floor to apologize to Scaloni. “They told me that they asked him to put on gloves to touch the trophy…” the FIFA president said in English, making a gesture of placing his left hand on his chest as a sign of forgiveness.
“I apologize on behalf of FIFA. I didn’t know that. And of course the world champion can touch the trophy,” said Infantino. “I apologize, I didn’t know,” repeated the Swiss head of state. He also thanked Ronaldo – the former Brazil striker he sat next to on stage – for informing him of the incident. “The ‘great phenomenon’ has now told me. Thank you. And on behalf of FIFA…” concluded Infantino before calling Scaloni to the stage.
The Argentine coach said that on Friday after the draw They hadn’t allowed him to touch the glass without gloves. “That doesn’t work”he said, which had repercussions on social media.
When Scaloni took the stage, set up in a room at the Capital Hilton Hotel in downtown Washington, he was met with applause from the entire auditorium. Infantino handed him the trophy and said: “Now you can deliver it again.”.
After putting the trophy down, Scaloni pointed to Ronaldo and hugged him as a sign of gratitude for the Brazilian’s warning to Infantino. “They had told me I wasn’t allowed to touch her without gloves. The person who… really didn’t know me, but that’s okay.“, said the coach.
“What an impudence. After becoming world champion, you look younger every day,” Infantino protected him while hugging him. Scaloni thanked the detail, greeted the Italian Francesco Totti and hugged the Bulgarian Hristo Stoichkov, the two former stars who also attended the event, before returning to his seat in the front row.
Minutes earlier, Scaloni had made an initial assessment of the venues and schedules allocated to Argentina. “As I said yesterday, there is no easy rival, especially after what happened to us at the last World Cup “They taught us a lesson about what it’s like to play in a World Cup by losing the first game.” against Saudi Arabia, he noted. “It makes us be vigilant and know not to get overconfident. The games have to be played and that’s what we’re going to do: play every game as if it were the last.” Now I’ve seen the timetables, one is at 1 o’clock in the afternoon and it will be a bit hot. But like Stoichkov said, they are games, they have to be played and the heat is for both of us and there are no excuses“added Scaloni, who had already shown concerns on Friday about the fixture list that could affect the Argentine team.
In reality, the time Scaloni was referring to was on the North American east coast (the format FIFA has chosen to transmit match times), so the Argentine team’s second game will take place at 12 p.m. local time in Dallas.
The exception is – according to the members of the coaching staff themselves – that the AT&T Stadium in Dallas features a retractable roof and a climate-controlled environmentwhich is essential in midsummer due to the high temperatures in this city.
Scaloni’s team debuts on June 16 against AlgeriaIn Kansas Cityat 10 p.m. (Argentina time, 8:00 p.m. local time); then it is measured Austriaon June 22nd, in Dallasat 2 p.m. (12, local); and will close its participation in Group J against Jordanon June 27th, also in Dallas, at 23 (21, local).
Argentina will play all of its games in the United States and will not have to travel long distances between its venues. The World Cup premiere will take place at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. The other two presentations will take place at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas, a common venue for major North American sporting events.
As for the calendar adopted yesterday, the Argentine team was able to avoid traveling to San Francisco, California, which was the furthest from Miami, where the team will certainly be based. In this sense, The Albiceleste coaching staff agreed that they didn’t have to go to the west coasthe knew it THE NATION.
On the other hand, the coaching team does not exclude the possibility that between the second and third gamesboth in Dallas, five days apart, The team is staying in the Texas city to avoid the three-hour flight from Miami plus transfers to the airports. Members of the coaching staff who are in Washington will now remain in the United States to explore these options.
Should Argentina win the group, the route in all other cases would be along the East Coast: Miami, Atlanta, Kansas City, Atlanta and New Jersey, where the grand final will be played on July 19th.
After the final group match was announced – L, led by England – Scaloni had time for selfies, patted former Italian referee Pierluigi Collina and left the room he shared with other Argentine coaches such as Gustavo Alfaro (Paraguay) and Sebastián Beccacece (Ecuador).
There was already a loving exchange with the German in an area reserved for the protagonists Thomas TuchelCoach of the England team. “You are the best”the former Chelsea coach told him in English, who, after an initial conversation, retraced his steps to hug Scaloni again.