Argentina men’s national football team head coach Lionel Scaloni said captain Lionel Messi “will be the best for as long as he wants to” after the superstar scored a hat trick in the Albiceleste’s 3-0 win over Algeria to kick off its 2026 World Cup play.

“It’s hard to explain what Leo does,” he added. “He’s been doing this in every single game for 20 years. It’s exciting to watch him. Not just for us Argentines, but for anyone in the world.”

The Argentine coach insisted that, despite the result, the match was “tricky” and that the African team brought the heat to Argentina.

Scaloni went on to highlight the importance of having built a closely knit squad since taking over as Argentina coach, even if “without the results, nobody would think about that.”

“For us, that’s still the most important thing, because in tough times, it’s your teammates who help you get through it,” he said. 

“We always say that things are easier if you get along with the person next to you — and that’s not going to change.”

The Argentina coach insisted that, even after the win at Qatar 2022 and back-to-back Copa Americas, his team doesn’t need much motivating because they enjoy competing and have done so from a young age.

“Algeria gave us a hard time, but the team showed resilience and found a way to overcome it,” he said. “We know very well that anyone can beat us. If you get a little complacent, anyone can beat you, just like what happened against Saudi Arabia [in the past World Cup debut]. I think it makes us stronger to know that, if we do things right, it will be hard for anyone to beat us.”

A football ‘god’ who is just a ‘lad from the neighborhood’

Asked why Messi has found his best times with the national team under him, Scaloni admitted he hasn’t given much thought to it. He insisted that the player with whom he shared a dressing room back when the superstar debuted at the 2006 World Cup has been this good since then.

“I guess he found some homeliness,” said Scaloni. “He’s got a team of friends who see him as a god but also as a regular lad from the neighborhood. When they have to talk to him about something, they just do it.”

The Argentine coach said it’s “hard to explain what [Messi] conveys” and that you “have to be there to feel the atmosphere” when you’re around him.

“I think the word is ‘homeliness,'” he insisted. “Help him understand that, in the end, we’re all just people, that one day football will come to an end, and that, in the meantime, he should enjoy it.”

Scaloni also thanked the fans for their support, admitting it’s often the backing in the stands that helps the team through slumps in tough moments.

“It’s exciting because, being away from home, it feels like there are so many more of us than there actually are,” he said. “I hope all Argentines could experience what I experience when I’m on the bench. It’s an incredible feeling that stays with you forever. Game after game, it’s really wonderful, so I hope you enjoy it.”

Cover image: Selección Argentina Twitter