Argentina had entered the knockout stage with commanding wins in their three group-stage matches. But the path through the knockouts to the semifinal was not easy at all. The current world champions had to sweat to beat Cape Verde in the round of 32, Egypt in the round of 16 and Switzerland in the quarterfinal. Whoever the opponent, Argentina must pass a hard test to win — that is what the team’s coach, Lionel Scaloni, seems to have accepted. The World Cup-winning coach said that fighting through intense pressure and winning was their identity.
After beating Switzerland 3-1 in the quarterfinal, Scaloni said: “We knew we would have to win the hard way. It is in our blood, it is in our DNA. This gives us mental peace.” Every one of Argentina’s knockout matches was full of drama: a 3-2 win after extra time against a newcomer opponent like Cape Verde; then an incredible 3-2 comeback against Egypt after trailing 2-0 until the 79th minute; and finally a tough test from Switzerland in the quarterfinal, where, level at 1-1 in normal time, the champions secured their semifinal ticket with extra-time goals from Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez.
Scaloni believes the experience of winning the 2022 World Cup is helping his team handle difficult moments and win. “In Qatar we were not this experienced, and neither was I. It was hard to handle such situations then. But now we know what it is like to be under pressure from the opponent, what the pressure of coming back to equalize is like. So today we could stay calm. This team never gives up,” he said. Praising Switzerland, the Argentina coach said: “They were a very tough opponent. They were very strong in one-on-one battles. Even stringing five or six passes together became hard for us. We really had to suffer a lot.” Praising his players, Scaloni said: “All the credit goes to the players. They kept faith in the whole process. We are a team, we are united. And this proves how hard a game football is.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report